


The last plan

by LadyIrina



Series: Best laid plans [7]
Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies)
Genre: Guardians take care of their own, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, angsty bits, beware of man-smut, dark clouds on the horizon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-01
Updated: 2015-06-02
Packaged: 2018-02-27 15:43:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 34,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2698349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyIrina/pseuds/LadyIrina
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Separated for over two months...<br/>-<br/>"Man, you got no idea how much I've missed you!" Peter admitted with a light laugh. </p><p>Physically unable to keep from smiling as well, Saal did a quick scan to make sure Peter was unharmed and was relieved to see the man appear to be in good shape. "I think I might have a slight inkling."<br/>-<br/>What will it take to save him?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: based solely on the movie! And a bit darker than the previous ones.

The Planet Vale, 10 months after the defeat of Ronan:

The docking area was crowded, seemingly endless rows of humanoids milling about, but Saal slipped effortlessly between them. 

Outside of Xandar, he found it laughably easy to blend in despite his scarred appearance.

The Denarian glanced up at the big sign he was passing by, Dock 7, and continued on his way towards his destination: Dock 18.  
The Milano was set to touch down there at any minute now, bringing Gamora and Peter with her.

Saal had barely spent a couple of days on board the cargo ship after Nova Prime gave him her blessing when Peter had become ill.

According to Gamora it was an illness common to Terrans, something called a 'cold', but Peter had been very convinced that he was dying.  
The Terran struggled to die for close to five days before the stuffy nose and the cough gave up and he started getting better. (Peter hailed it as nothing less than a miracle.)

That was when Gamora picked up a rumor that Nebula had been spotted on a distant planet and Drax received a cry for help from an old war-comrade in an even more distant quadrant of space.

More than a little reluctant to let Gamora wander off into danger alone, yet unable to trust Drax to 'not' start a war if left unsupervised, Peter had been torn about what to do.

In the end, the Terran and Gamora had taken the Milano to hunt for Nebula, while Saal and the others took the cargo ship, now dubbed Bacon after the infamous Kevin Bacon, to help Drax on his mission.

That was a little over two months ago.

Working with Drax, Rocket and Groot had been taxing, true. Saal had on more than one occasion felt like the only sane adult surrounded by psychotic children, but there had been good times as well.

It was close to frightening how quickly Saal had settled with his criminal companions, but there was no denying that he was looking forward to see Peter again.

For a moment Saal thought that his longing had conjured up a wishful image as he suddenly saw what looked like the man himself hurrying towards him through the crowd, the ship wasn't supposed to have landed yet, but then he found himself with an armful of Terran and the solid form confirmed how real he was.

Saal's mind was spinning to catch up, to realize he was actually was holding Peter close, but then he was yanked into a fierce kiss.

Trying to pull away, awkwardly aware of that they were in the middle of a huge crowd, the Denarian felt the Terran cup his face and drag him back into the kiss.

"Peter," Saal complained against his lips, trying to pull away again in vain. "Peter, people are watching. They're mpff..."

He could hear a woman passing them give a little laugh and say something about a happy reunion.

Saal was about to try to pull away again, but then Peter lowered his lips from his, still cupping his face with his hands, and looked at him with a smile that made the Denarian's heart jump.

"Man, you got no idea how much I've missed you!" Peter admitted with a light laugh. 

Physically unable to keep from smiling as well, Saal did a quick scan to make sure Peter was unharmed and was relieved to see the man appear to be in good shape. "I think I might have a slight inkling."

The idea that Saal might have missed him as well, why shouldn't he though, seemed to brighten Peter's mood even more and he squirmed a little closer to the Denarian.

Oh, what the hell, Saal thought as he leaned down and claimed a kiss of his own. Let people gawk. He didn't care. He would blame it on space dementia or something similar later.

Wrapping his arms even tighter around the Terran, Saal opened up eagerly when Peter sought to deepen the kiss and savored the flickers of desire that followed the caresses of his tongue.  
How long they stood like that, Saal had no idea. He completely lost track of time, purely focused on the touch and taste of Peter, feeling how buried wants came screaming back to life.

"Get a room, you two," Gamora's voice suddenly broke the reverie.

To his credit, Saal didn't jolt away this time, but reluctantly separated himself from the bright eyed Peter and sent the woman an apologizing smile. "Gamora. It's good to see you again."

"Uh huh." She didn't sound convinced, but there was amusement in her eyes. "Just take it indoors before you get arrested for indecent exposure. I'm not spending my units on paying your bail."

-  
  
Peter wasn't surprised to see that Gamora's words made a light color creep into Saal's face. He thought for half a moment to reassure the Denarian that it wasn't that bad getting arrested for indecent exposure, Starlord should know as it had happened to him twice, but realized it might not have the desired effect.

Reaching out to take a light hold of Saal's arm, unable to be 'not' touching him after all this time, Peter couldn't help grinning. "Point taken, Gamora. Okay, so... You find the others, make sure they don't do anything stupid. We'll be at the nearest hotel, but I wouldn't recommend interrupting us. We'll all meet up at the marked tomorrow morning."

The light color in Saal's face deepened into a visible blush and the Denarian stuttered something, but Peter noted the man didn't really object when he was tugged along to head for more private surroundings.

They had barely entered the hotel room and kicked the door shut before Peter was shoved up against that door and Saal's lips found their way back to his.

It felt like Peter's entire body lit up and all his blood rushed south once the soldier's magnificent form pressed against him as well.

Wrapping an arm behind Saal's neck, Peter gave every bit as good as he got, but a rather embarrassing whimper escaped against his will when the Denarian's hand settled by his hip and pulled him even closer.

More kisses, wet and messy, along with wandering hands, until the need for more grew too much to be ignored any longer.

Jackets and boots were discarded on the way towards the bed. They were both impatient and yet unwilling to skip touching and kissing every bit of skin available to hurry things along.

Peter managed to pull off Saal's undershirt before shoving him back to land on the bed and wasted no time before following to caress the newly bared skin, loving scars and flawless parts alike.

The soldier was clearly torn between losing himself in the feeling of what Peter was doing and the need to do the same to him.

Peter's t-shirt was next to go, followed by his pants and Starlord had to fight dirty by placing a hungry kiss with more than a touch of teeth to Saal's neck to regain control of the situation.  
He'd learned that the neck was an especially vulnerable part that turned the soldier into a shivering mess.

It only bought him a few minutes though as the Denarian rolled them over, took a hold of Peter's wrists and held them down against the sheets to keep the Terran from distracting him while he did a little teasing of his own.

Another thing he loved about being with Saal; Peter never had to worry about moderating his strength during these power plays. The dark haired man had plenty muscle himself and could even cheat by tapping into the Nova Force, not that he ever did (Peter would have), but it certainly made room for some fun in-bed-wrestling.

When all the clothes were gone and they had teased each other to the edge of insanity, Saal brushed his lips by Peter's ear and shuddered with barely restrained want. "Peter...?"

"If you're not fucking me within fifteen seconds, man, I swear I will hurt you!" Peter snarled.

It took a little longer than that, mostly because Saal took a little too much pleasure in watching Starlord squirm and plead under his preparing touch, but even the proud soldier had to surrender to his own need and that glorious heat.

Peter wrapped his legs tightly around Saal's waist and fought to remember how to breathe when the Denarian started to move, above and against and inside him.

-  
  
Was it possible to feel too much pleasure? Saal was pretty sure he could feel his mind trembling under the strain and there was a high pitched whine to Peter's exhales as their bodies moved together, driven by ancient instinct.

Sweat eventually made their skin slippery and fingers had to struggle to find a grip as they danced over hips, arms and shoulderblades.

At one point, the Terran pushed at Saal's shoulder and he allowed Peter to move them over so he could sit up and set the pace, which was accomplished with barely breaking the rhythm they'd found together.

Placing one hand on Peter's hip, stroking his other hand up and down the dancing stomach muscles, Saal tried to stave off his completion a little longer.  
He wanted to watch Peter come first.

Eyes closed, lips parted and fingers digging into Saal's chest, the Ravager seemed lost to the world as he kept moving but it only took Saal wrapping his fingers around his cock to push the Terran over the edge and into his climax.

Saal couldn't really wait for him to finish before he flipped them over again and chased his own release.

Peter, probably oversensitive by now, simply bit down hard on the area between Saal's neck and shoulder to renew the mark he'd once placed there, and held him tight against his body to encourage him to find his bliss.

Saal was almost embarrassed at how fast that happened, but gods it felt good! So very good!

Once the pleasure eased down a little, the Denarian lifted himself on trembling arms to give Peter some space to regain his senses as well, but the Terran merely yanked him back down into a firm embrace.  
Sweaty, sticky and out of breath, neither of them seemed in much of a hurry to let the other go.

During these two months, they had barely spoken over the communication lines and while the awesome sex had been very much missed, Saal had missed even more just talking to the idiot in his arms. He'd wanted to simply hold him close. Feel him breathe. Sense the heat from his presence.

And judging by the light fingertips moving over Saal's skin as well, Peter had felt something similar.

Saal placed a light kiss to the Terran's neck. "First a shower, then food, then round two."

Peter snorted a laugh, reaching up a hand to stroke back a few black locks of Saal's hair. "You read my mind, dude."

Smiling, Saal lifted himself up to look down at Peter's face. "You know, I was starting to worry you had gotten cold feet about having me onboard the ship and didn't plan on returning."

He was semi-joking, but Peter's eyes widened.  
"Idiot..." The Terran pulled him back into a hug tight enough for Saal to feel his ribs creak. "You're not getting rid of me that easy, Garthan. I got no plans to let you go."

Saal hadn't been really conscious of how much the thought had bothered him before now, but finding himself reassured, the Denarian relaxed against him. "Good. As I got no plans on leaving." 

They lazed about for a bit before Saal dragged Peter along into a shower, where they stayed, thanks to Peter's clever hands and countless deep kisses, until the water went cold and forced them out, laughing and blaming each other. 

As planned, food followed, despite Peter's reluctance to leave the room, but they found a small food stall not too far from the hotel and they ate and drank while exchanging information on what had happened on each side during the time they'd spent apart.  
Only a cold trail after Nebula and Drax' war-buddy had settled his conflict with a little help.

By the time they were heading back to the room, both Saal and Peter were more than a little drunk, but that did not get in the way of round two. Or round three.

And when morning came, so did Saal, compliments of Peter deciding to take advantage of the fact that he was already way underneath the sheets anyway. Best way to start the day ever, Saal declared and Peter couldn't stop laughing. Until Saal got his hands on him, at least.

Arriving at the marked place they found that it wasn't overly crowded yet, probably too early, and both Saal and Peter used the opportunity to wander from booth to booth and merely glance at whatever was being sold, just to pass the time until the rest of the Guardians arrived. 

At the edge of the marked, Saal heard the Terran call out his name and he turned to face him as Peter trotted towards him from whatever booth he'd been hovering by. "What?"

"Here," Peter held out something for him. "Put this on."

Frowning, Saal picked it up and studied it. "What is it?" It looked like a slim, black leather wristband with some kind of tiny computer-chip embedded in the hide.

"It's a locator!" Peter beamed and held up his own wrist, already wearing a matching bond. "That way I can find you, you can find me!"

Saal raised an eyebrow, struggling not to smile and failing. "What? You couldn't find matching rings?"

Peter blinked and for the first time in his adult life, his face flushed with embarrassment. "That's not..." He reached for the wristband, grunting annoyed when it was held out of his reach. "Give it back. It was a stupid idea anyways. Forget about it, okay?"

Laughing, Saal held it out of reach when Peter made a second attempt to grab the wristband. "I was just joking, Peter. Relax." He then held out his wrist and the wristband towards him. "Put it on."

Peter stared at him, clearly trying to decide whether Saal was making fun of him or not.

Saal nodded towards his wrist. "Go on."

-

Slowly, with a touch of hesitance, Peter reached out and attached the band around Saal's right wrist, making sure it was locked securely before letting go.

He then took a step back, very slowly taking his eyes off the wristband and glanced up to scan the Denarian's face for a reaction.  
Mockery? Pity? Superiority?

Peter was surprised to see Saal studying the wristband with a gentle smile, as if he'd just been given something precious, and for some reason it made Starlord's heart thud like crazy.

Lowering his arm, the Denarian glanced around, checking their surroundings, then he stepped closer and leaned in to deliver a soft kiss. "Thanks."

Stunned, Peter almost forgot to act cool and had to clear his throat to regain his composure as the other man stepped away again. "Yeah, uh, okay..."

Saal's smile got a touch of smugness to it and the tip of his tongue touched his upper lip for a second as he kept his eyes on Peter. "I'll show my appreciation later."

The prospect of having Saal's mouth on him made Peter's knees weaken for a moment. It was one of the things which they'd never gotten around to and was among the top three on Peter's wish list.  
Starlord only started to life when Saal walked away and he hurried to follow him. "You know, you're going to love the Milano!"

"Oh?" Saal didn't sound convinced. "Drax and Rocket says it's a mess."

Huffing annoyed, Peter made a mental note to get back at the two snitches. "They have no appreciation for a fine ship. That's all. I have every confidence that an upstanding Denarian like yourself will recognize high quality when you see it!"

Laughing, Saal nodded affably. "Of course."

Peter was about to suggest that they could check up on the cost of fuel when Saal suddenly slammed his shoulder into him and sent Starlord crashing to the ground while there was the sound of shots being fired and people started to scream.

Dust flew up as Peter rolled a few times, dazed and confused, and there were more gunshots.

By the time he got up into a half-crouch, weapons drawn, only a few seconds had passed since he was sent off balance, but by then three men had already been turned into fallen bodies.

Saal was standing with his back towards Peter, but he could see the soldier's arm was trembling as he was still holding his gun pointed towards the ones who had tried to shoot them.

Squinting, Peter could barely make out the bodies in the swirling dust and recognized them for what they were.  
Reavers.

Peter moved a now wide-eyed stare over at Saal. "Dude... You just saved my life!"

Saal made a strange sound and took a step backwards, making the hair stand up at the back of Peter's neck.

"Saal...?"

The Denarian's gun fell to the ground and the soldier slowly moved his hand to his torso.

Peter was scrambling towards him by the time Saal's legs gave in and he crashed to his knees.

Grabbing a hold of his shoulders and moving Saal back to lean against him, Peter saw what he desperately didn't want to see.

Saal's right hand was pressed against his stomach, blood already seeping out between his fingers, his left hand was lying limp by his side and more blood was trickling out from a bullet-hole in his chest.

"No, no, no," Peter mumbled frantically, his hands hovering from one wound to the other, not sure where to apply pressure. "Saal, no..."

Squirming in his arms, struggling to breathe, Saal turned his face so he could look at Peter, but what Starlord suspected was a punctured lung didn't allow the soldier to speak.

"Just..." Peter quickly pressed his hand down on the gaping stomach wound when Saal removed his own hand to reach out and touch the Terran's face. "Just hang on, ok? You'll be fine."

Peter's vision was starting to blur and he didn't even notice the tears in his eyes as he was trying not to panic.

-

Peter suddenly realized he could feel blood soaking his thighs as well, the shot must have gone straight through the Denarian, and his hand was now swimming in it where he tried in vain to keep pressure on the torn stomach.

Saal tried to speak again, but it only resulted in a weak cough and blood trailing down his chin.

Peter hushed him softly, leaning down to press his lips to Saal's temple and shut his eyes tight.  
"You can't leave me, Garthan," Starlord choked out. "You said you wasn't going anywhere, remember?"

But he could already feel the strength leaving Saal's body, see the light in his eyes grow fainter, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. There was just too much damage.

"Please," Peter whispered. "Don't leave me..."

He watched in silent agony as Saal fought down one breath, then another, then... there was nothing.

Peter stared for a moment, his mind refusing to believe what was happening. 

Just a minute ago they were laughing, happy, and now he was covered in blood and Saal was gone?

That just wasn't possible!

In the distance, Peter barely noticed the sound of running footsteps, someone calling his name, but he couldn't take his eyes off the now deathly pale Saal in his arms.

Peter gulped down a sudden breath, fighting off hysteria, grabbed a hold of Saal's shoulder and shook him. "No. No, no, no! NO!" 

More voices, close by now. Gamora. Rocket. Words were spoken, but to him they were just an incomprehensible jumble of sounds. 

Only when hands took a hold of him and tried to pull him away did Peter react. He violently lashed out, breaking free and went back to clutching Saal even tighter.  
"NO!" He screamed. "NO, NO, NO!"

Those shots had been meant for Peter! Not Saal! Why the hell had that idiot stepped between them? If one of them deserved to live, it wasn't Peter Quill! The galaxy had plenty of thieves, but far too few stupidly noble guys like Saal. 

Hands touched Peter again, gentler this time, and he heard Gamora's voice speak his name.

Shaking his head, Peter merely turned to gently rock Saal in his arms, sobbing quietly.

He was so lost in his suffocating grief that he didn't notice it when it happened, but slowly he realized there was a flickering light nearby.

Straightening a little, Peter saw the golden glow emerging from Saal's wounds. A glow that kept growing stronger. 

The Nova Force, Starlord realized.  
Was it trying to save him? Was it even possible?

From what little Peter had learned about the Nova Force, it 'was' able to heal injured Nova Corps soldiers, but only if they were able to channel the Force and even then the results varied depending on the severity of the injury. 

Whatever it was, Peter saw it as hope.

Snapping into action, he gently lowered Saal to lie on the ground and leaned down to place his ear to his chest, listening for a heartbeat.

Nothing... Wait, was that...?

Peter's own heart jumped at the faint thud heard and he sat up abruptly. A quick look up at Saal's pale face revealed a glow gathering over his mouth and nose, almost like a mask.

Glancing over, he saw Gamora kneeling next to him, Rocket standing by her with Drax hovering behind the both of them, and they all were staring with disbelief at the glow.

"We got to get him to the ship," Peter said.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gamora sent Peter a wary look. "Where are we taking him?"
> 
> "Xandar." Peter pulled Saal up and only hesitated for a moment before hoisting him over his shoulder. He had a feeling time was of importance and they needed to get the Denarian home as fast as possible. "And we need to hurry."

"What the hell happened?" Rocket demanded to know while Drax kneeled down on the other side of Saal to help Peter carry him.

"Reavers," Peter replied absently, placing one of Saal's arms behind his neck to get his own arm behind the soldier's back. "Drax, get his..."

The second Drax touched Saal there was a flash of energy and the big man was pushed away.

Blinking startled, Peter swallowed hard as he realized that no one else would be allowed to touch Saal. The Nova Force wouldn't allow it. "I guess I'm carrying him on my own then."

Gamora, after having made sure the cursing Drax wasn't in any danger of dying or losing a limb, sent Peter a wary look. "Where are we taking him?"

"Xandar." Peter pulled Saal up and only hesitated for a moment before hoisting him over his shoulder, praying the Nova Force was strong enough to handle the rough treatment. He had a feeling time was of importance and they needed to get the Denarian home as fast as possible. "And we need to hurry."

Onboard the Milano, after sending Drax and Gamora to pilot the ship, Peter lowered Saal into his bed and sat down next to him, looking from wound to wound to the glow covering half his face, wondering if there really was hope?

The bleeding seemed to have stopped, but with the amount the Denarian had already lost, was there much more to leave his body? Saal's skin was so pale...   
He didn't appear to be breathing either, but there had to be a reason for the glowing mask, right? 

Peter slowly reached out and took one of Saal's hands and held it between both of his. So cold to the touch...

It was hours later when Rocket entered the room. The raccoon walked over to look at Saal and stood in silence for a while, but finally glanced up at Peter. "You should go get cleaned up. We're pushing the ship's engines, but Xandar is almost a day away."

Peter merely shook his head, unable to even think about leaving Saal.

Sighing, Rocket shifted his weight uneasily. "Listen, I get it. I do. But, Quill, you're covered in blood."

Blood? Peter slowly emerged from his numbness and looked down at himself.

Rocket was right. He was covered in blood. Saal's blood.  
Nausea rolled over Starlord and he swallowed down the need to throw up. 

Nobody could lose that much blood and survive... No, he couldn't think like that! The Nova Force was keeping Saal alive. They were going to reach Xandar and they were going to fix him!

A small paw touched by Peter's arm and Rocket waited until he had his attention before speaking again. "I'll sit with him, okay? You go get cleaned up. Change your clothes."

Peter wanted to refuse, scared half to death that his presence was the only thing preventing Saal from giving up, but logic finally prevailed and he gave a faint nod.

Slowly, reluctantly, Starlord got up and carefully placed Saal's hand back by his side before leaving the room.

Walking into the bathroom, he saw his own reflection and barely recognized himself.

His face was pale and smeared with blood, his eyes dull and yet filled with pain.

Looking down at his hands, Peter felt another wave of nausea at the sight of even more blood.  
Saal's blood.  
Blood everywhere.

And this time he made no effort to stop the tears.

-  
Returning to Saal's side after a quick shower and change of clothes, Peter nodded his thanks to Rocket and quietly picked up the soldier's hand again.

It was hard to say whether time flew by or stood still. The only interruptions in his despair was when one of the Guardians would check in on them and tried in vain to get Peter to eat or drink something.

Finally Drax appeared in the doorway to say the words Peter wanted to hear. "Peter Quill, we will arrive shortly. The green harlot has informed Xandar of our medical emergency."

It was almost ironic at how fear stabbed through Peter at the prospect of finally reaching Xandar and the people who knew everything about the Nova Force. He suspected it stemmed from the small voice at the back of his head which refused to shut up about there was no way Saal could survive.  
Peter had seen people die of much lesser injuries and having lost nowhere close to that amount of blood.

He clamped down firmly on the thought of having brought Saal to Xandar only to be told there was nothing they could do.

Once the Milano had landed, Peter managed to get Saal over his shoulder and carried him down to the cargo room, where he was joined by the other Guardians as the landing ramp lowered itself.

Outside, a small group of Nova Corps soldiers were waiting. Among them, Millennian Ares, who seemed more than a little nervous.

Peter stepped out and met the uneasy stare evenly. "You got our message?"

Ares' gaze flickered up at the silent form over Peter's shoulder and nodded. He then turned and waved for someone to come forward.

A team of medics made their way over with a gurney. 

Starlord noted that several of the soldiers stepping aside had their hands on their photon blasters, but he decided to ignore it in favor of lowering Saal on to the gurney and taking one step back to allow the medic to do their thing.   
"One shot to the gut, one to the chest," Peter informed them quietly, barely noticing Gamora placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Lost a lot of blood..."

There was a lot of medical jargon flying between the medics as they examined Saal, yet none of them commented on the glow. Maybe it wasn't that uncommon after all?

"We need to take him to the hospital," one of the medics said, casting a quick glance back at Peter.

Nodding, Peter cleared his throat. "Yeah. Yeah, whatever you guys need to do. Just... Is he going to be okay?"

The medics exchanged looks, appearing to be even more nervous than the soldiers, but finally one of them gave a faint shrug. "We won't know that until we get him to the hospital and start treating him..."

When they started wheeling the gurney away, Peter took a step after them, meaning to follow, but suddenly two soldiers got in his way.

"Peter Quill," Ares called. "I'm afraid I have orders to bring you to Nova Prime."

Glaring over at him, Peter felt his hands turn into fists. "I'm going with him. Tell your Prime that I'll come for a visit when I know that Denarian Saal will be okay."

"My orders were very specific," Ares said. He moved over to the two soldiers to face Peter. "The doctors will do everything they can. Meanwhile, Nova Prime requests your presence." He hesitated before adding in a softer tone, "I will bring you to the hospital myself afterwards. I give you my word."

For a moment, Peter considered simply fighting his way through them, but he knew it would only cause more soldiers to appear and he might end up in jail instead of ever reaching the hospital at all.

Fury and despair made it hard to breathe.

Gamora squeezed his shoulder in a calming gesture. "Better get it over with."

"Fine," Peter grit out between clenched teeth. "Let's go."

-

Unlike his previous visit to the Nova Headquarters, Peter was shown straight in to Nova Prime's office.

The woman was standing behind her desk, hands behind her back, and gave a dismissive nod to the Nova Corps soldiers who had escorted Peter.

"I'll be waiting outside," Ares glanced over at Peter as if to confirm his earlier promise before the soldiers left and the door closed behind them, leaving just Nova Prime and Starlord.

"What happened?" Nova Prime asked, cutting all pleasantries and going straight for the core.

Peter had to draw a shivering breath to compose himself. "Reavers. I didn't see them." He swallowed hard, unable to object to the blame in her eyes. It had been his fault after all. "Denarian Saal saved my life, but he got hit. Twice."

There was a barely visible flinch to Nova Prime, but she kept her iron calm. "And you brought him here?"

Feeling a flicker of confusion, Peter shrugged. "I figured you guys might be able to fix him. You're the Nova Force experts."

At those words, Nova Prime's eyes narrowed slightly. "The Nova Force kept him alive?"

Peter nodded. "Yeah. I thought he was gone, couldn't hear no heartbeat, couldn't see no breathing... Then the glow appeared."

Nova Prime turned her face away and Peter frowned. 

There was definitely something wrong here.

From the nervous and trigger-happy soldiers to Nova Prime's reaction to the glow.

"What the hell is going on?" Peter took a step towards the desk. " I thought the Nova Force was 'supposed' to heal and protect you guys!"

Nova Prime glanced back at him, but when she opened her mouth to answer, there was a massive tremor going through the building.

The lights flickered briefly.  
Then nothing.

While Peter was studying the ceiling, dreading it would all come crashing down on him, Nova Prime reached for her communication piece in her ear.  
"This is Nova Prime. What's the situation?"

Peter moved his stare over to the white haired woman, wanting to know the answer himself.

Nova Prime listened for a few seconds, then replied in a tone that left no room for discussion. "No. Not yet. And what is Denarian Saal's condition?" Another pause before continuing. "I will be there shortly."  
Glancing over at Peter, lifting her hand to turn off the communication piece, Nova Prime showed no trace of emotion. "He's awake."

Peter started violently. "Saal? He's awake? Is he okay? How...? What...?" His heart was suddenly pounding like crazy.

Nova Prime walked over to the door. "Let's head for the hospital."

Hurrying to follow, Peter almost ran down the confused Ares waiting outside the office.

"Nova Prime, are you unhurt?" The Millennian seemed more than a little startled by the tremor.

Waving off his concern, Nova Prime continued her march towards the elevator. "We are going to the hospital."

The short journey was made in suffocating silence, each person lost in their own thoughts, but Peter lit up at the sight of the hospital entrance.

He forced himself to keep Nova Prime's pace, partially due to the fact that she knew where Saal was and he didn't, but also partially due to all the armed soldiers lined up everywhere.  
Eventually Peter had to ask. "What's up with all the guns?"

Nova Prime stared firmly ahead while answering. "During these last couple of weeks we've had attacks on public buildings. It seems like some of Ronan's followers survived and wants to continue his legacy of murder."

And before Peter could reply, they came to a halt outside of a hospital room and inside, lying on a hospital bed, was the familiar form of Denarian Garthan Saal.

-

Peter stepped into the room, approaching the bed quietly.

Saal appeared to be asleep, eyes closed and sheet pulled up to his chest. He was now wearing a light blue hospital-shirt which revealed the start of a bandage before it disappeared underneath the sheet.  
Still so very pale...

Halting next to the bed, hovering uncertainly, Peter glanced back at Nova Prime and Millennian Ares, but only got blank stares in return.  
He returned his focus to the man in the hospital bed, noting he did breathe on his own now and the glow was gone, but was he really going to be okay?

Peter leaned down slightly. "Garthan...?"

He didn't really dare to hope for a reaction so Peter's heart did a flip when Saal slowly opened his eyes.

For a second it seemed like the Denarian was lost in confusion, but then his dark eyes focused on Peter and he gave a faint smile. "Hey..."

Relief washed over Peter and he felt his entire body sag. "Hey," he whispered, not trusting his voice. 

Saal closed his eyes for a few seconds before returning his sleepy gaze to the man next to him. "What's going on...? Why are we on Xandar?"

That was the moment when Peter crumbled and pulled him into a fierce hug.

Still drowsy, Saal didn't respond at first, but then slowly wrapped an arm around him. "Peter...?"

Shaking his head, Peter hid his face to Saal's neck, fighting hard to get rid of the tears threatening to spill before anyone could see them.

Saal eventually tensed a little and tapped Peter's shoulder. "Peter... I'm sorry, but... ow..."

Carefully releasing him, Peter gulped down some air and tried a sheepish smile as he straightened. "Sorry... Not fully healed, hah?"

Lifting a hand to his bandaged chest, palm where the shot had pierced him, Saal still seemed confused. "I got injured? What happened...?"

Peter felt a sickening jab of guilt. "You don't remember the Reavers?"

Looking even more confused, Saal shook his head and studied his bandaged chest. "I don't..." Then suddenly he shifted his abruptly clear gaze back up at Peter again. "Wait. Yeah. I remember." He quickly reached his hand towards him, grabbing a hold of his shirt. "Hey, are you okay?"

Taking his hand between both of his, Peter nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." Starlord tried to smile. "You shot them all before I could even aim at them."

Relaxing into the pillows, Saal sighed reassured. "Good..." 

Peter tightened his grip on his hand. "Promise me you won't ever do that again."

The Denarian met his gaze, a light tug of a smile at the corner of his lips. "You know I can't do that."

Peter wanted to object, wanted to force him into making that promise, but then Saal noticed the other two people present. 

Pulling his hand free, Saal sat up and there was a hard twitch in his shoulders as if he was about to get out of bed. "Nova Prime."

While Peter shoved Saal firmly back into the pillows, Nova Prime walked into the room and gestured for him to stay where he was. "At ease, Denarian Saal."

Reluctantly sinking back into the bed, clearly tense and uncomfortable, Saal squared his shoulders in an unconscious effort to appear unaffected by his wounds. "Yes, Nova Prime."

Peter knew it was merely the soldier in Saal reacting with distress at appearing weak and injured in front of his superior officer, but he still had to struggle to keep from wrapping himself around the dark haired man to protect him from any discomfort.

"How are you feeling?" Nova Prime asked, halting by the bed and trying to smile.

"Better," Saal replied, his gaze flickering briefly over at Ares who was still hovering in the doorway as if he was afraid to enter the room. "I apologize for the inconvenience, Nova Prime."

"Nonsense," Nova Prime snapped. "There is nothing to apologize for, Denarian Saal." She hesitated for a moment. "How much do you remember?"

Saal didn't react noticeably at the question, but Peter felt his radar ping. 

Something told Starlord that whatever happened next would rely on the answer to a seemingly simple question...

-

"I remember what happened that morning," Saal began, unknowingly reaching his hand over and began fidgeting with the black band around his wrist. "I remember seeing the Reavers. The shots. Getting hit." He then exhaled and shook his head. "After that, it all goes black."

Peter crossed his arms, clenching his jaw to keep the memories at bay. He remembered just too well what happened after Saal got shot.

Nova Prime's eyes narrowed slightly. "Nothing? You remember nothing at all?"

Saal met her gaze, calm and with nothing to hide. "I'm afraid so. Just blackness, then I woke up here."

Peter couldn't be sure, but he would have sworn he saw a glimpse of relief in the woman, but she quickly recovered and patted the top of Saal's hand.  
"Rest, Denarian Saal." Nova Prime straightened. "I just need to have a word with Peter Quill."

Saal sent Peter a quizzical look, but Peter was just as confused himself. Why would she want to talk to him?   
And the idea of leaving Saal didn't sit well with him. At all!

"Just a quick chat," Nova Prime chirped, but her steel eyes didn't fool Peter for a second. "As we never did get to have our little chat in my office."

It wasn't a request. That was an order.

While he wanted to object, Peter noticed the unease on Saal's face and sent him a reassuring grin. "Told you she had a thing for me!"  
Both Saal and Ares drew startled breaths, but Peter ignored them and leaned down towards the Denarian. "You just rest and I'll be back before you wake up, okay?"

Still hesitating, but too exhausted to object, Saal gave a weak nod.

It took all of Peter's willpower to keep from kissing him, but something told him the man would probably get even more stressed as his boss and a fellow soldier were watching.

Peter settled for drawing light fingertips along Saal's jawline before nudging his chin lightly. "Rest." Then he forced himself to straighten up and motion for Nova Prime to lead the way.

Walking down the hospital corridor, Nova Prime in the lead, followed by Peter and then Ares, Starlord absently noticed there was something familiar about one of the men lying in one of the rooms they passed.  
He had seen that guy somewhere before, but where? 

Suddenly it hit him. That was one of the medics who had brought Saal to the hospital!

That was when they came to a halt by the massive doors leading out of the building and Nova Prime turned to face him. "What are your plans, Peter Quill? What is your next move?"

More than a little startled by what he'd just seen, Peter cleared his throat to regain his composure. "I, uh, I'm not sure. Gotta let Gamora and the others know that Saal is going to pull through."

"I can do that!" Ares exclaimed eagerly, making the Terran flinch at the volume before he sheepishly lowered his voice. "I mean, I would be happy to inform Lady Gamora of the development."

"Lady Gamora, huh?" Peter raised an eyebrow, wondering if the guy was even trying to hide his massive crush on a renowned assassin. "Yeah, okay. Knock yourself out. Tell her I will be by later and that she can find me here if there is an emergency."

Nodding with a enthusiasm that didn't match his mission, Ares darted off towards the docks.

The second the doors closed behind him, Peter could feel the dangerous tension in the air and he knew he was finally about to learn what was making the usually so cold Nova Prime afraid.

"That guy, back in that room we passed," Peter said, not waiting for the woman to speak, "that was one of the medics who brought Saal here, wasn't it?"

Nova Prime didn't blink. "Yes."

"What the hell happened?"

"Peter, do you know why the Nova Corps exists?" Nova Prime asked.

What did that have to do with anything? Peter huffed annoyed. "I don't know. To make sure no one was having any fun? Isn't that what all you law-people do?"

"You never considered why we have ranks? Why not simply have a handful of Nova Primes?"

"Because it takes more than a handful to take care of an entire planet?" Peter ventured. "What does this have to do with that medic?"

Why was she replying to his questions with nothing but questions? 

Could things really be that bad? What was going on...?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taking a step away, Peter felt his pulse thundering in his throat and he gave a little shake of his head. "What are you saying...?"
> 
> "I'm saying that you need to take Saal away from here," Nova Prime made it sound like an order. "And you have to hurry."
> 
> Peter fought to draw a calming breath. "What happened to that medic?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the delay. Hopefully back track now!

"The Nova Force is incredibly powerful." Nova Prime continued as if Peter had never spoken. "It takes training and mind control to be able to use it properly. The higher the rank, the more access you get and the more powerful you become."

"Yeah, I know all that," Peter snapped. "And you're the Prime. The toughest one of them all. Full access. I get it."

"Even my access to the Nova Force is restricted," Nova Prime corrected.

Peter blinked, a little surprised at that fact. "I thought you were the highest rank possible?"

"I am." Nova Prime sighed. "But even my mind wouldn't be able to withstand the full Nova Force."

She hesitated before continuing. "With our ranks there are boundaries, limits, to how much of the Nova Force we can access. During our history, there has been two cases where these limits were broken."

Peter was now feeling more than a little dread settling in his stomach. "And what happened to them?"

"I am Nova Prime," Nova Prime said, "these men turned into Nova Omega. A vessel filled with the full capacity of the Nova Force." She shook her head. "The physical body is not meant to be exposed to such power and the mind is warped by it."

"They went crazy," Peter translated to himself in a mumble.

"The first Nova Omega took his own life after slaughtering over half of the Nova Corps with his own hands. The second Nova Omega died when three Centurions gave their lives to end his, along with his aspiration to rule not just Xandar, but the entire Galaxy." Nova Prime spoke as if the history was physically painful to her. "Nova Omega cannot be reasoned with, cannot be stopped by any other means than death."

Taking a step away, Peter felt his pulse thundering in his throat and he gave a little shake of his head. "What are you saying...?"

"I'm saying that you need to take Saal away from here," Nova Prime made it sound like an order. "And you have to hurry."

Peter fought to draw a calming breath. "What happened to that medic?"

"He had the Nova Force torn out of him."

Now chills were creeping up Peter's neck. "Saal wouldn't do that."

The man would rather take a bullet than letting a common criminal die! He wouldn't hurt someone who was trying to help him! No way!

"When the Dark Aster crashed through our ships, there was so much Nova Force released from the dying minds... The Worldmind must have reacted to Denarian Saal's attempts to shield himself from the flames and flooded his system, destroying the barrier meant to protect him and limit his access." Nova Prime closed her eyes briefly. "As long as he is here, he might continue to absorb more of the Nova Force. Do you understand?"

Peter gave a quick little nod. "Yeah. Yeah, get him out of here. Fast. Before he turns into one of those Omega things." He couldn't help but to ask. "Are you sure about this?"

"He should have died in that crash, Peter Quill. There is no other way for him to have survived that inferno." She took a step towards him, hammering the point home. "And he did die after being shot on that planet. But, without his knowledge or own doing, the Nova Force froze him in stasis rather than to let his body perish. It's only the most skilled healers who are able to keep a body in stasis. It's a complicated procedure and the upkeep burns a lot of Nova Force, so more power was needed before it could start healing him in addition to keeping him alive. The Nova Force was torn from everyone in the room to assimilate in him and fuel his recovery. Doctors, nurses, the medics..."

"Are they going to be okay?" Peter whispered, knowing Saal would be beyond devastated if he knew what he'd done.

"I don't know," Nova Prime admitted. "I have never experienced anything like this before. To us, Nova Omega has been a myth for many, many years..." A small, bitter smile played over her lips. "I almost didn't believe it was true."

Peter considered his options for a few seconds. "But he's stable now, yeah?"

"I believe so," Nova Prime said. "His reserves should currently be on a Centurion level, a lot of it was used during the healing process, but what remains, he can handle it. He's always been a natural with the Nova Force. And he's not consciously gathering the power. For now, both he and Xandar should be fine."

For now.

-

The flames kept crawling closer, the heat was unbearable, and no matter how much Saal tried to lean away there was no place to go. He called out for help, but there was no one who could reach him. 

It was getting hard to breathe, the fire was devouring the oxygen and he was pinned down by the front of his ship being pushed in further and further against him. There was no escape.

The Denarian desperately turned his face away, unable to watch as the hull of his ship buckled and brought the flames through the power shield and straight towards him! 

He could feel the fire eating at his skin and his entire body shook with raw agony as he SCREAMED.

Saal remembered a flash of orange and the sensation of something expanding inside of him, pushing against his skin from within.

Burning eyes behind his eyelids, staring back at him.

Starting awake, Saal drew a sharp breath and had a moment of bewilderment before he remembered where he was. Hospital. Xandar.

A soft snore drew his attention and the Denarian glanced over to find Peter slumped and asleep in a chair next to the bed.

The Terran's head was tilted at an uncomfortable angle, almost resting on his own shoulder , his arms were crossed defensively, while he'd stretched out his legs to rest on the lower part of Saal's mattress.  
Peter's face showed clear traces of exhaustion and Saal knew he probably wouldn't get any decent sleep before they were back on the ship where he could curl up under the covers again.

The Denarian had little memory of what had happened back on the mining planet after he'd gone down after being hit. He remembered the impact, realizing that he was shot, but it all started to fade after that...

Saal remembered the agony in Peter's voice though...

That was when the Terran in question twitched and his eyes opened to check that Saal was indeed there and alive.  
Finding him awake, Peter straightened slightly and pulled his feet down. "Hey," he rasped.

"Morning," Saal greeted quietly, looking over at the window and realized he had no idea whether the faint light outside was dusk or dawn. "Or good evening?" How much time had passed...?

"Morning," Peter informed, rubbing his eyes, before leaning slightly forward and focusing on him again. "How are you feeling?"

Saal did a quick check of any aches and came to a surprising conclusion. "I feel fine, actually." He slowly lifted a hand and pulled a little at the bandage around his chest.  
The cloth, tainted by his blood, gave way and soon revealed the pristine skin underneath.  
Raising his eyebrows, Saal gently poked at where he figured the wound had been based on the blood. "I've seen what the doctors can do with the Nova Force, but it will never cease to amaze me..."

Peter made a non-committing sound, rubbing at his neck now in an effort to ease the discomfort there after his rest. "So, uh, does that mean we could be leaving soon?"

"I don't see why not," Saal replied, wondering how he could ever repay Nova Prime for this. How many times had she saved his life now? He was losing count...

A hand on his shoulder made Saal aware of how Peter had stood up and was hovering next to him.  
"I meant what I said though," Peter stated with a faint and weary smile.

"What was that?" Saal asked.

"Don't risk getting hurt again." Peter absently corrected the left side of the collar on Saal's shirt. "My life is not worth it, okay?"

"It is to me," Saal declared quietly and met his eyes with a touch of defiance.

Peter seemed torn between the urge to either hit him or hug him, but settled on sinking back down in his seat. "We'll discuss that later. Right now, I just want us back on the Milano and away from here!"

Saal discretely prodded his bandaged stomach and found nothing but unblemished skin there as well. "Shouldn't be too long. The doctors have done excellent work. I feel both fully rested and charged up on Nova Force."

He would have to ask Nova Prime to give them his gratitude before he left...

-

Peter was dangerously tempted to ignore everything he'd learned from Nova Prime before she'd sent him back to the hospital room.

Saal seemed like himself. 

Nothing seemed to have changed.

Yet, Peter's skin was prickling with the desperate urge to grab the dark haired man and get him as far, far away from Xandar as possible!  
Maybe it was because of Nova Prime's voice still haunting him?

\- When did you know, Peter had asked.  
\- I suspected after learning he was the sole survivor and the extent of the damage from the Dark Aster. There were those who wanted to put him to death at once, fearing Nova Omega, but I refused such an action until I saw actual evidence of his transformation. I tried to keep him close after he woke up, look for any signs of him seeking out the Nova Force, but instead I was forced to watch him turn into a ghost of his former self and wither away as if the scars on his skin were poison. When you brought him back to life and took him away from here, I almost thought he was safe...

But then Peter had failed. Hadn't kept him safe.

Saal took the deadly bullets meant for him, got hurt because of him, and Peter had been forced to bring him back to where he might face a fate even worse than death.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

Saal's voice snapped Peter out of his thoughts and Starlord forced a smile.  
"Sure," Peter chirped. "Just dreaming about leaving this place. That's all."

"Uh huh," Saal didn't sound like he really believed him, but decided not to prod. "So, what did Nova Prime want?"

Peter waggled his eyebrows.

Predictably it made Saal huff annoyed and squirm with embarrassment. "Peter Quill. That's both vulgar and untrue."

Feeling a tiny part of the unease lift, Peter leaned back in his chair and smirked. "Oh? How can you be so sure?"

"Because you gave me your word not to bed another," Saal stated. "Also, Nova Prime would never mix business with pleasure."

Peter clicked his tongue. "She's missing out, you know. If I didn't have such a strict policy to always mix the two, I wouldn't have ended up in your bed!"

Again, he was a smug witness to the soldier's embarrassment, which brought a slight color creeping up his neck this time at the memory of their first tumble.

"Does this mean you do not intend to tell me of Nova Prime's intent?" Saal finally ground out.

Sighing, Peter gave a little shrug. "What do you think she wanted?" Not waiting for an answer, he rattled on. "She wanted to know what had happened, of course. How you got hurt. Why. Who was to blame. She's still looking after her favorite soldier boy, you know?"

That last sentence was painfully true, Peter realized. 

Saal tried to smile. "Nova Prime understands sacrifice to save a loved one. She's the one who sent me off to live among criminals in order for me to follow my heart."

"Yeah..." Peter whispered in defeat. "A criminal who almost got you killed..."

Saal reached out his hand and waited until Peter took it before he spoke. "It wasn't your fault. And I am not dead, Peter Quill. I am very much alive. Stop blaming yourself."

Drawing his fingers over Saal's hand, the skin warm to the touch instead of deathly cold, Peter glanced over to meet the Denarian's dark eyes. "I will. If you promise to never do something like that again."

This time Saal had no trouble finding a smile. "Well then, a stalemate it is!"

Peter would continue to blame himself and Saal would not hesitate to once more step between him and a bullet.

-

Later, when a doctor appeared to check up on him, Saal couldn't help but to notice that the woman seemed even more skittish and reluctant to enter the room than Millennian Ares.  
He glanced over at Peter, trying to measure if the Terran noticed the odd behavior as well, but he was staring firmly at the floor.  
"So when can I leave this place?" Saal meant it as a joke, but both Peter and the doctor lit up.

"Oh, I don't see any problem in releasing you," she said. "The wounds are healed and your strength have returned."

"Awesome!" Peter exclaimed, getting up on his feet. "Get dressed, man! I'm breaking you out!"

Blinking confused, Saal glanced from one to the other. Was this really ok?

The doctor choked out a laugh and clung to the medical files in her arms. "I will inform the others."  
With that, she basically fled the room.

Saal followed her escape with a thoughtful frown before he was assaulted by clothes, thrown at him by a grinning Peter.

Slowly gathering the clothes and sitting up, the Denarian couldn't help but to feel there was something wrong. "Hey..." He called for Peter's attention. "What's going on?"

Peter froze and raised his eyebrows. "What... do you mean?"

"Everybody seems so tense." Saal started unbuttoning his hospital shirt. "Like something is wrong."

After a second of hesitation, Peter moved over to get Saal's boots and returned to the hospital bed with them. "They, uh, they've had a couple of incidents with some of Ronan's fans." 

"What?"

"Nothing you need to worry about," Peter dismissed. "They got it under control. Let's just get you out of here."

Not overly reassured, Saal undid the bandage. He still couldn't quite believe that he hadn't been burdened with more scars, considering the burning pain which had spread from the bullets tearing through him.  
"I should at least speak with Nova Prime," the Denarian mumbled, pulling on his undershirt. "I can't just run off without expressing my gratitude."

"She knows," Peter stated carelessly. "Don't worry about it, dude. She's busy."

"But, still..." Saal couldn't help feeling it would be awfully rude and weird to just leave like this. Almost as if he'd done something wrong and had to sneak off before he was discovered!

"Saal, dude, we've been here for over 30 hours," Peter said, trying to reason with him. "There are limits to how long Gamora can manage to keep Drax and Rocket on board the Milano. They will, very soon, be out mingling with your fellow Xandarians. Is that something you want to happen?"

The thought was frightening!

"Stars above, no," the Denarian huffed and began dressing with purpose.  
He could only imagine the havoc the two would cause if let loose on the unsuspecting population of Xandar.

"You can give Prime a call on the comm line," Peter offered. "Deal?"

An acceptable compromised, Saal concluded. "Deal."

He had no idea why the Terran was in such a hurry to leave, but Saal had no particular fondness for hospitals and he really wanted to avoid any incidents which would occur if Drax or Rocket were let loose.

Besides, even if his body was rested and healed, his mind felt weary and something told Saal he would be more able to rest in the Milano than in a hospital bed.  
After everything that had happened, he just wanted to curl up with Peter and yank the sheet over them both for a couple of days.

-

Every step they took towards the air docks made Peter feel lighter and more cheerful than what he thought was possible.  
They were only hours away from putting this horrible stuff and Xandar behind them!

Peter glanced over at Saal, still unable to believe the man looked as if he hadn't been more dead than alive not too long ago, but the Denarian appeared to be his old self and even gave him a little smile when he noticed he was being observed.

Approaching the Milano, Starlord saw Gamora step out of the ship and approaching them.

"Saal," she greeted with relief as she came to a halt in front of them. "It's good to see you back!"  
Saal gave a little nod, somewhat embarrassed by her kind words, and was completely unprepared for her tugging him down to kiss his lips gently. "You had us worried."

While the Denarian stuttered something, to Gamora's amusement, Peter was once again struck with the dilemma of who he was feeling jealous of.

He resented, with more passion than he wanted to, other people kissing HIS Garthan, but on the other hand, the damn Xandarian had been kissed twice now by that gorgeous woman! Hell, Peter had only tried to kiss her once and it had nearly cost him a slit throat!

Almost as if she could read his mind, the woman in question suddenly spun around to face him and stuck an accusing finger in his face. "And you, Peter Quill...!"

"What?" Peter yelped, automatically flinching back and aiming to inch behind Saal for protection.

"You better get that boy off my back!" Gamora snarled. 

"Who?" Peering out from behind Saal's arm, Peter wondered what kind of insanity had struck her now.  
Why, oh why, did the Guardians constantly have these attacks of insanity?

"That Nova Corps soldier! Ares!" She shoved an affable Saal aside to glower at the cowering Peter. "The cretin has been driving me insane!"

Saal turned to look at her and raised a dark eyebrow. "Ares? How so?"

"He gave me flowers," Gamora hissed before she gave a confused shrug. "What the hell am I supposed to do with flowers?"

Biting down on a laugh, Peter shrugged as well. "Don't worry. We're leaving. You'll be safe from more flower attacks!"

The glare she gave him almost made him dive for cover behind Saal again, but it was worth it.

Well, at least this meant that Gamora didn't have some Nova Corps fetish, making her kiss every single officer she came across.

"Let's just get out of here," Gamora grumbled. "The boys are restless."

The three started to make their way towards the Milano.

"How are you feeling?" The assassin scanned Saal with a curious eye. "You look as if you never got hit. If I hadn't seen you myself, I wouldn't have believed you were in such a bad shape..."

"The doctors and medics here can work wonders with the Nova Force," Saal replied. "They are very skilled in healing all kinds of injuries. I feel perfectly fine. Not a trace of residual pain. Nothing."

Clearly impressed, Gamora was about to say something, but suddenly there was a huge explosion.

Peter fought to keep his balance as everything shook. He saw fire and smoke vomiting out from a door leading to the mechanic bay, but he had barely time to register it before two more explosions hit.  
People were screaming and running, causing a complete chaos to reign at the air docks.

Debris was falling from the ceiling where one detonation had been set off, falling down to damage ships and people alike.

A shuttle next to them was filled with people fighting to get out when a piece of concrete dropped towards it.

It felt like time had stopped. Peter could only stare in horror as there was nothing he could do to help these people. It took him several seconds to realize that it wasn't time that had stopped, it was the concrete slab.

Hovering mid-air, the massive piece seemed to be surrounded by a thin line of yellow energy.

Enthralled, Peter only reacted when he heard screams of pain.

Spinning around, Starlord saw five or six Nova Corps soldiers which had come running to help were now collapsing, writhing in pain on the ground as the glowing Nova Force energy was torn out of them and channeled into the Denarian next to him.

Saal appeared to be in a trance, holding both his hands up towards the concrete slab. His eyes were locked on the debris and his pupils were glowing, a glow that was growing stronger and wider.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Worldmind was an ever developing supercomputer, a completely different AI to the one in the past. It wouldn't let such a disaster happen again.
> 
> Would it?
> 
> Saal slowly raised his hands and stared at them, wondering why he'd been holding up when he came to his senses only moments ago.

Staring, unable to take his eyes off Saal, Peter was caught somewhere between fascination and horror.

He only snapped out of it when he became aware of Gamora staring as well and how the soldier's screams grew even more agonized.

A quick glance over at the fallen Nova Corps members revealed all of them pressing their hands to their eyes and glimpses of blood trailing down their faces like tears.  
Peter reached out and shoved at Gamora's shoulder to get her attention. "Get those people out of the shuttle. Hurry!"

Blinking startled, she shifted her gaze over to him and gave a faint nod as the order registered in her mind.  
There was no mistaking how many questions she had about what was happening, especially about Saal, but luckily Gamora knew time was of importance and she ran over to the increasingly empty shuttle.

"Peter!" Rocket came bounding towards him, followed by Drax. "What is going - whoa!" The Raccoon came to an abrupt halt and stared up at Saal. "What is up with him?"

Shaking his head, Peter motioned towards Gamora. "No time. I'll explain later. Help her empty that shuttle. Hurry!"

Confused and suspicious, Rocket reluctantly did as he was told.  
Drax stared thoughtfully at Saal for a heartbeat longer, then followed as well.

A piercing scream made Peter look back at the fallen soldiers and this time saw the blood trailing from their ears as well.

Was Saal killing them? It didn't seem like the Denarian was aware of their presence, even though he kept draining them of their Nova Force to keep the concrete debris hovering mid-air.

Moving over to stand straight in front of the dark haired man, Peter swallowed nervously at the sight.

Saal's glowing eyes were locked on target. He was awake, yet not there. Like something had hollowed him out and kept the shell, the appearance of Denarian Saal.

A fourth explosion shook the ground once again, but Peter couldn't see Saal reacting at all.

It was pure torture to simply stand there and wait, wondering if Saal's soul had been burned out already and if the fallen Nova Corps soldiers would survive whatever was being done to them, but finally he heard Gamora's voice call out.

"The shuttle is clear!"

"Good job. Now get out of there!" Peter yelled back, keeping his eyes on Saal. "Go!"

Hesitating, Starlord considered his options before gathering his courage and tried step one: talking.

"Saal?" No response, no reaction, nothing. "Hey, Saal! Come on, buddy. Snap out of it!"

A couple of the Nova Corps soldiers had stopped screaming by now. Peter had a feeling that it wasn't a good sign.

"Dammit, Saal..." Peter whispered. "I need you to stop... whatever you're doing. Okay?"

Still nothing.

Starlord shifted his weight uneasily before doing what he usually did whenever he was in doubt; Peter Quill winged it!

"SAAL!" Leaning in close and yelling at the top of his voice, Peter drew a sharp breath of relief when it made the Denarian blink and there was a loud crash when the concrete slab completely flattened the shuttle.

Saal blinked again.

As if he was waking up from a deep sleep instead of a creepy glow-eyed coma.

"Wha...?" Saal rasped, his hands lowering as he shook his head to clear his mind. "Peter...?"

More relieved by the second, especially as the glow had left the Denarian's dark eyes, Peter tried to put on a carefree face. "Hey, Denarian Tight-Pants. You feeling okay?"

"Yeah," Saal rubbed his eyes and glanced around with a confused look. "What happened?"

"We were leaving," Peter said, taking a hold of his wrist and trying to drag him along.

It was like trying to move a mountain.

Looking back at him over his shoulder, Peter tried to hide his impatience, but the other man was too busy gazing around at the chaos to even notice.

The dark eyes came to a rest on Gamora, Drax and Rocket, the three standing a small distance away, staring at him with nervous distrust. 

-

Something was wrong.

Something was horribly wrong!

Saal remembered the explosion, but after that there was a huge chunk of time missing.  
He could smell the smoke from the fires, there were people crying for help, yet Peter acted like nothing was wrong.

It made Saal's skin crawl.

"Peter," he said quietly, "what the bloody hell is going on?"

"It's those Kree. Set off bombs," Peter's voice sounded shaky and he wouldn't meet his eyes. "We gotta leave."  
The Terran sent him a pleading look, begging for Saal to stop asking questions.

"Why? What's wrong? What is happening? Tell me," Saal demanded.

Peter's shoulders sank with defeat and he sighed. "I don't... I only know what she told me, okay?"

Nova Prime, then. But what had she told Peter that made him act like this? Like nothing was wrong when they were surrounded by destruction and Saal was painfully aware of losing time.  
Peter should know better than to think Saal would leave when there were people who needed help!

"What did she tell you?" Saal reached out and placed a hand on Peter's arm, making him meet his eyes. "What?"

Squirming with discomfort, Peter gave a little shrug. "She said..." He cleared his throat. "She said that when the Dark Aster broke through, killing all those Nova Corps soldiers, a whole bunch of Nova Force was freed and that Worldmind of yours sort of overreacted when you tried to shield yourself from the flames..."

Trying to decipher what was being said, Saal made an effort to glue the pieces together. "Overreacted? What do you mean?"

"It flooded your system with the Nova Force." Peter said. "Supposedly it broke something inside of you and if you stay here, you would just keep absorbing more of it."

For a moment, Saal felt both dizzy and petrified at the same time.

He knew the theory, what it would mean to have the barrier broken, he's heard the stories since he was a child, but Saal never once thought it could happen again.  
The Worldmind was an ever developing supercomputer, a completely different AI to the one in the past. It wouldn't let such a disaster happen again.

Would it?

Saal slowly raised his hands and stared at them, wondering why he'd been holding up when he came to his senses only moments ago.

Fear was growing inside him, stronger by each heartbeat, as he was finally making the pieces fit and they were showing a picture he didn't want to see.

This was why he survived being shot...

Gulping down air, Saal let his hands fall and looked around.

He saw the Guardians staring at him, Peter's agonized expression and medics kneeling by fallen Nova Corps soldiers casting him frightened glances while trying to save lives.

They were scared. All of them.  
Including Saal.

Shaking his head, as if he could deny the truth, Saal started stalking towards the exit, but halted once Peter's hand locked around his upper arm.

"Where are you going?" The Terran asked.

Saal slowly met his eyes. "I have to speak with Nova Prime, Peter. I have to know."

Peter hesitated, then gave a little nod. "Okay." He drew a deep breath and released him. "Just let me talk to the others and then we'll go. Alright?"

For some sick reason, Saal felt relief rushing through him at the thought of not having to go alone and he gave a little nod of his own. "Yeah..."

Nova Omega was the ultimate weapon of destruction, yet Peter Quill still chose to stand by him.

Saal might have taken two bullets for him, but Peter's loyalty made that act seem small.  
A highly praised peace-keeping officer turns out to be a monster and a hedonistic criminal turns out to have the purest heart of them all. How was that for irony...?

-

Slightly worried that if he turned his back on him then Saal would disappear, Peter had to force himself to trot over to the others.

"What the hell?" Rocket exclaimed, waving his little paws as if to underline his stress levels.

Peter cast a quick glance back at Saal, relieved to see him still standing there, before turning back to the Guardians. "Like I said, I'll explain later. Long story. We're just gonna head over and have a few words with Nova Prime, you guys. We'll be back soon. Meanwhile, why don't you help out where you can?"

Drax frowned. "I do not like secrets, Peter Quill."

"No secrets," Peter huffed. "It's just... I want to get my facts before we start speculating!"

"The fact is that those soldiers are looking at Saal like he's Thanos," Rocket said.

Gamora crossed her arms defensively. "What did he do to them, Peter?"

"I don't know!" Peter exclaimed. "Okay? That's what we're going to find out!" He took a step closer to them. "Whatever is going on, we'll make it right. Saal would never hurt you, you know that!"

"We barely know him," Gamora stated.

"Don't give me that crap," Peter scoffed, meeting her eyes without a flicker of doubt. "You know him. He's like a snooty saint! This? This wasn't him! And we'll make it right!"  
Peter could hear his voice rising, but was unable to stop himself. "We saved the entire damn galaxy! We can save one single Denarian!"

Rocket nodded with a faint smile. "Yeah. Yeah, we can." He patted Peter's leg. "Go. We'll handle stuff here."

Strangely grateful, Peter swallowed hard and nodded as well. He glanced at the other two and found similar responses there.

"We'll be back soon," Starlord promised. "Keep the engines running."

He turned and headed back towards Saal, trying to ignore how pale the other man was by now.

"Everything okay?" Saal asked in a quiet, almost timid, voice that did not suit him at all.

Putting on a smile, Peter nudged his shoulder. "Why wouldn't it be?" He started dragging him towards the exit, hoping in vain that Saal didn't notice the medics carefully backing away. "Let's go find Nova Prime."

They made their walk in silence.

Medics and soldiers were still rushing towards the air docks.  
Peter caught small pieces of information as people rushed by them. Like how there weren't any casualties so far, some injured people but nothing critical. The western side of the air docks had been hit the hardest. 

He glanced over at the pale Saal, considering for half a second to point out the fact that if Saal hadn't stopped that piece of concrete there would have been plenty of casualties, but he kept quiet as it would mean revealing how he'd stolen the power from the other Nova Corps soldiers.

They needed facts before they could start dealing with what had happened.

Peter would have preferred for them to just turn tail and get off the damn planet, but he knew Saal would never settle before he had his answers.

Approaching the Nova Headquarters, Peter saw the entrance was flooded with three times the usual amount of guards.  
Frowning, he glanced over at Saal again and found his own confusion reflected there.

Clearly this was new to the Denarian as well and it didn't leave Peter with a good feeling.

"Whatever happens," Peter mumbled, "we'll deal with it. Don't go all noble on me. Promise?"

Despite everything, Saal managed a faint smile, which felt like a balm to Peter's heart. "I will try not to. Fair enough?"

"I suppose it will have to do," Peter quipped in return with a slight grin.

The brief moment of careful optimism was shattered the second they approached the door and the guards quickly gathered in front of the door.

"Denarian Saal," Saal stated. "Here to speak with Nova Prime."

The Nova Corps soldiers were all pale with fear, clutching their weapons and looking ready to start shooting or running for their lives as the smallest provocation.  
"No one is allowed to enter the building at this time," a Corpsman yelped.

-

No one or just not the Nova Omega, Saal wanted to ask, torn between anger and despair.  
He needed to talk to Nova Prime! What if he did something terrible? Would he even know or would time just disappear from him again? Was it possible to control this or was he doomed to repeat the fate of the previous Omegas? If she knew he was Nova Omega, why was he still alive?

"Tell her Denarian Saal wants to talk to her," Saal growled, clenching his hands to keep his temper.

The tone made the Nova Corps soldiers even more nervous and Peter placed a calming hand on Saal's shoulder, but desperation was quickly drowning out reason.  
He needed to talk to her!

Just as he was about to demand an audience, a familiar voice called out his name.

"Denarian Saal! Hey!"

The guards shuffled sideways as someone made their way through them and Saal soon found himself facing Corpsman Dey.  
No. No longer Corpsman. He'd been promoted, Saal remembered suddenly.  
"Denarian Dey," Saal greeted. 

As usual the man was all smiles and beaming a kind of satisfaction with life that Saal had always sourly envied him and somewhat resented him for.

"I need to speak with Nova Prime," Saal said.

Denarian Dey made a face. "Ah. Sorry about that." He made an apologetic shrug to both Saal and Peter. "Security reasons. The building is shut down. No one is allowed inside." He leaned slightly towards Saal, lowering his voice. "There has been rumors that the Kree has somebody working for them in the Nova Corps!"

"That's nonsense!" Saal exclaimed instinctively. "No one in the Corps would be working for the Kree! And even if they, somehow, managed to infiltrate, the Worldmind would pick up on it in the Nova Force."

Shrugging again, Dey merely held out his hands in a gesture of 'what can you do?' and 'it is out of my hands'.

Saal shook his head, it wasn't his responsibility to defend the Nova Corps anymore, and took a step closer to Dey. "I still need to speak with Nova Prime. It is rather... urgent."

While the other Nova Corps soldiers flinched a step away, Denarian Dey stood his ground with a gentle smile. "I hear you, Denarian Saal. I just can't let you through. Orders."

"How about you ask her?" Peter shot in. "That's not breaking orders, is it? You go inside and you ask her."

Dey considered it, then nodded.

As the other Denarian turned and walked back inside while pressing the communication device in his ear, Saal turned to face Peter. "Thank you..."

Peter shrugged. "Like I said, we'll handle it."

Time passed, it felt like years to Saal, but finally Denarian Dey appeared again.  
"Okay, so," Dey said, clapping his hands together, "here's the thing." He made a face. "Still can't let you through."

Saal drew a sharp breath, about to start arguing, but Dey held up a hand to signal for his silence.

"However," Dey continued, "Nova Prime said she definitely wants to talk to you. She asks that you return to your apartment for now while she deals with this latest Kree attack. She will summon you as soon as she can make time. Okay?" He glanced from Saal to Peter and back to Saal again. "Okay?"

Peter turned to face Saal. "Your choice. Just remember, we can still leave."

Saal considered it for a moment, then shook his head. "I'm sorry, Peter, but I need to talk to her." He needed answers. "Alright, Denarian Dey. I will be at my apartment."

Turning away and setting course for his apartment, Saal was lost in depressing thoughts when suddenly Peter's voice reminded him of his presence.

"Listen, I gotta go tell the others we're staying a bit longer. You want to head on to your place?" 

The Terran studied his face and Saal wondered if he was looking for any homicidal tendencies, but quickly realized the man was actually checking Saal's wellbeing and not worrying about anything else.

"If that's okay with you?" Saal couldn't help an apologetic tone to his voice. He just didn't feel like talking to anyone but Peter or Nova Prime.

Peter nodded, patting his shoulder. "It's okay, dude. I'll see you in a bit."

Saal watched as he walked away before turning to head back to the apartment he'd thought he'd never see again...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a leeeeettle shorter than the others, but done so that I may hopefully get chapter 5 up before going on a wee Christmas hiatus. I will be writing, but no internet where I'll be heading, so hoping you will have at least chapter 5 to help you through a week of no updates!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They tumbled gracelessly down on the bed and Peter rolled them around until he ended up on top with a light laugh, which ended when he studied Saal's face.  
> Drawing a couple of light fingers along Saal's eyebrow, brushing away a black bang which had fallen into his eyes and underlining the frown found there at the same time, Peter sent him a quizzical look. "You sure you wanna do this now?"
> 
> Saal nodded. 
> 
> "Alright," Peter relented, stealing a kiss before adding, "but it's my show."

None of the other Guardians were particularly happy about the lack of answers Peter could give them. He was reluctant to give details about what Nova Prime had told him, but revealed that there was something wrong with Saal's connection to the Nova Force.

"Basically he can super-charge and go nuclear," Peter mumbled.

"And you want us to hang around and wait for it to happen?" Rocket shook his head faintly. "Am I the only one who thinks that is a bad idea?"

"It's not going to happen!" Peter felt his temper flare. "But you're welcome to jump on the first ship out of here. All of you are. This ain't your problem."

"He is our friend," Drax stated in his no-nonsense tone. "That makes it our problem."

Rocket threw his paws in the air in an exasperated move, spinning around to stomp back on the Milano, but Gamora nodded to Peter with a faint smile.

After promising to stay in touch, Starlord quickly made his way towards Saal's apartment.

He was more than a little flattered as the door opened without him needing to turn to his tricks, but his good mood vanished the second he entered the living room.  
Saal was sitting on a sofa, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and holding his head in his hands. A posture screaming defeat.

Swallowing hard, Peter walked over and crouched down in front of him. He placed a light hand on Saal's arm. "Hey..."

Saal lifted his head and tried at a smile. "Hey yourself. So, they didn't kidnap you and run off to safety?"

Scoffing, Peter made a face. "They're not the brightest bunch. You know that." He shrugged and took Saal's hand in his to give it a light squeeze. "They said that their friend's problem is their problem. I'm afraid you're stuck with us, Garthan."

That brought a true smile to Saal's pale face and he moved forward to pull Peter into a hug. "Stupid criminals," he mumbled against Starlord's neck.

"Uptight law-man," Peter retorted, wrapping one arm behind Saal's back and the other moving up to slide one hand through the black hair and rest by his nape. "It's gonna be okay."

He could feel a faint tremor go through the Denarian.

"I need you to promise me you won't hesitate to put me down," Saal whispered. "Nova Omega will destroy everything and everyone. It's even worse than Ronan as it will turn on its own first. Xandar."

Starting, Peter leaned back and took Saal's face between his hands to force him to meet his stern glare. "Now you listen here, dude. All this doomsday talk? It's just what it is; talk!" He shook his head as Saal was about to speak. "No, listen! Nova Omega might be every bit as bad as Thanos, but there is one thing you're overlooking here. One thing that is pretty damn important!"

Saal frowned confused. "What...?"

Stroking his thumbs along Saal's cheekbones, Peter leaned a little closer with a trying smile. "You ain't Nova Omega yet!"

Wanting to turn away, Saal found that Peter wouldn't let him. "Peter, I..."

"Last I checked, you're not killing everyone," Peter argued. "You're not sucking the Nova Force out of everyone or trying to rule the galaxy. Or did I miss something while I was out?"

Saal shook his head with a brief smile, then he turned somber again. "If something happens, I might not have a choice..."

"There is always a choice," Peter insisted. "Always." He leaned forward to gently rest his forehead against Saal's and lowered his voice to a soft murmur. "And I know you can make the right choice. I know you're stronger than this thing." 

Saal closed his eyes with a quiet sigh, some of the tension bleeding away from his shoulders, and Peter just couldn't help himself anymore.

The first kiss was a gentle brush of lips, the second one lingered a little more, each touch a mix of comfort and reassurance, but there was still such a heartbreaking sadness to Saal's face and it made each passing kiss last longer and go deeper.

-

Once again Saal found that the touch and taste of Peter made a serenity settle inside of him, curled up nicely to the flicker of desire that slithered lazily through his system.

It was the perfect combination to stop thinking all together.

Standing up, the Denarian saw Peter glance up at him with badly hidden concern, so he merely pulled him up and into a kiss that kept them both busy while he tried to guide them to the bedroom.

They tumbled gracelessly down on the bed and Peter rolled them around until he ended up on top with a light laugh, which ended when he studied Saal's face.  
Drawing a couple of light fingers along Saal's eyebrow, brushing away a black bang which had fallen into his eyes and underlining the frown found there at the same time, Peter sent him a quizzical look. "You sure you wanna do this now?"

Saal nodded. 

"Alright," Peter relented, stealing a kiss before adding, "but it's my show."

Usually this would make Saal start complaining, as Peter always loved to prolong everything until they were both close to forgetting their own names, but today it was exactly what he wanted.

The Terran pulled away and sat down next to Saal instead, starting with light caresses and removing each piece of the soldier's clothing so slowly that the Denarian could already feel his resolve to allow Peter to run everything waver.

It took enormous amounts of willpower to keep from yanking the tempting man into his arms, but Saal forced himself to merely obey when Peter maneuvered the clothes off of him and satisfied himself with tugging at Peter's own clothes until they were removed too.

Peter's skin felt wonderful and warm as his hand moved across Saal's chest, now starting to rise and fall rapidly as desire was reaching insisting levels, and the Denarian didn't even mind the touch sliding across the twisted burn scars covering his ribs.

At first he couldn't understand why Peter wasn't disgusted by the scars like everyone else, or why he at least didn't ask him to cover them up, but Saal had come to realize that the Terran merely considered them a part of Saal, like an arm or a leg. He even showed some sort of gratitude towards them as it meant the Denarian had survived the inferno instead of joining his fellow Nova Corps members in the afterlife.

In the past, Garthan Saal had thrown Peter into the Kyln. He had doubted Peter's honor when he came to help against Ronan, while he himself had been burned into someone wearing his failure on his skin for everyone to see. And now he had the threat of Nova Omega hanging over him. Yet Peter still didn't abandon him.

Instead he continued to touch him with both reverence and hunger.

It was more than Saal could ever hope to understand, but he knew he was pathetically grateful for it, for Peter being a better man than he could ever hope to be.

The sensation of Peter's lips trailing up Saal's throat made the dark haired man close his eyes and push his head back into the pillow to bare even more skin.

Unaware of doing so, Saal's hands moved up to find Peter's powerful shoulders and anchored themselves there while he tried to remember how to breathe and keep his impatience in check.

While Saal loved to indulge in watching Peter squirm with want, he always found it difficult when the tables were turned. He wasn't used to being made to wait or beg for what he wanted. Saal had always reached out and grabbed it, but now he was forced to suffer through the sensuous torture.

There were times when Peter would reward him for keeping still, with his lips and deep kisses, but there were also times when the Terran didn't play fair and went for the weak spots that made Saal's body move without his consent.

Kisses on the insides of his thighs, teeth digging into his neck or hands pulling at his hips, it was just a few of the tricks Peter had learned which there were no defense against and Saal was worried that the man kept adding new ones to his repertoire!

Peter's weight on him was a teasing preview of what Saal wanted so he was about to complain when the other man deprived him of it by sliding down his body, but then slippery fingers invaded him and stole all his attention, and it became a matter of remembering how to breathe again.

There were touches against the spot that made fire flare up his spine, but it was once Peter pushed a pillow under Saal's hips and pulled his legs up that the Denarian had to reach up and behind himself to take a hold of the edge of the mattress to make sure he didn't inadvertently hurt him.

He just didn't trust himself to regulate his strength this time, especially as he might be even more loaded up on the Nova Force than he knew. Peter had done a too thorough job of working him up for his own good!

-

Peter wished he could make the entire Nova Omega thing go away, undo whatever had been done, but as that wasn't possible, he decided to at least make Saal stop worrying for a little while.

Uncovering and caressing the Denarian's body wasn't exactly a chore, even if Peter had an added motive for bedding him this time, but Starlord soon discovered he was hardly immune to what was happening.

It felt so good to push into that tight heat that he nearly forgot everything himself, but Peter clenched his jaw hard and steeled himself against the sensations and the throaty sound escaping from Saal's lips.  
He could feel the Denarian's body arch up against him and the muscles in Saal's arms bulged as he tightened his grip on the mattress, making Peter tremble and nearly drown in want.

It would never matter how many times they did this, he knew it would be equally overwhelming every single time and so damn good it would make everything else void.

Peter pulled back a little to lazily push back in, knowing it would make Saal arch against him again.

For a moment Starlord couldn't take his eyes away from Saal's throat as the dark haired man turned his face to hide his expression against his arm, baring tempting skin and Peter moved forward to feel the pulse hammering away underneath his lips.

It was also quite intoxicating to feel the rasp of stubble along the jawline.

Saal always made sure to keep his body under strict control. Neat to a fault, from his finely combed hair to his clean shaven skin. Everything had to be perfect. Yet, every once in a while, Peter could see the well-hidden rebellious side of him in a black bang escaping and falling into Saal's eyes or the emerging stubble if the Denarian didn't get to stick to his routines.

Moving again, with a little more determination this time, Peter was satisfied to see the muscles in Saal's arm dance as he struggled to find a better grip on the mattress.

He loved the fact that the Denarian would sometimes leave marks on him after their tumbles.  
They were his temporary trophies from absolutely fantastic fucks. His proof that he could make the rigid control-freak that was Saal lose control. His hard-earned prizes.

Reaching up, Peter tugged at Saal's wrists and brought his hands down to his waist.

As one of Saal's hands settled by his hip, the other slid down to indulge in a handful of Terran ass to urge for faster and harder movements, but Peter merely engaged Saal in a grinning kiss as he settled into a nice rhythm that felt good but nowhere good enough.

It didn't take long before Peter could hear the impatient sounds trying to escape Saal's otherwise occupied mouth and feel the Denarian's fingers digging into his skin with growing strength, but he was in no hurry to give the Xandarian his way.

Not this time.

Working them both up again and again, taking care to angle himself to brush that place inside Saal that made his entire body start, Peter allowed them both to totter on the edge of release several times before he abruptly changed things and let it all fall apart so he could start building once more.

Saal was soon panting curses against him, hands were clutching at sweaty skin and muscles were trembling with tension, it was perfect.

"See?" Peter breathed near Saal's ear. "Control. It's all about, ah, control." 

Closing his eyes, the Denarian exhaled a shaky laugh, still trying to tug him closer. "You're in control, Peter. Not me."

"Are you kidding me?" Peter choked out, finding it damn hard to speak and move at the same time. "If you wanted to, you could take over at any time, Garthan. You know that. With... with the Nova Force at your command, I wouldn't stand... a chance..."

-

"I would never..." Saal groaned, biting at Peter's neck for a few seconds to keep a hold of his own sanity. "Would never use it... against you..."

Peter nodded, increasingly out of breath. "I know." He managed a soft kiss among the hungry ones. "Because... you have... control."

Which was when Peter lost his.

The words and raw pleasure were bouncing around inside Saal's mind as he felt the Terran shake through his release, but he was unable to make sense out of anything as long as his own body was howling for more.

The miniscule twitches from Peter's hips while he was easing down were bitter-sweet torture as it was enough to stoke the burning desire, but did not give enough friction to be truly sweet or bring him to a conclusion.

Instinct made him dig his fingers into Peter's back in an effort to keep him there when the Terran started pulling away, but it was in vain and Saal could only make a complaining whine as he felt him leave his body while he was still aching.

He absently felt Peter placing sloppy and breathless kisses down his stomach and couldn't hold back a rather loud moan when Peter's lips suddenly closed around his cock. Only the Terran's hands grasping Saal's hips prevented him from bucking hard against the engulfing heat.

A distant part of the Denarian's mind pointed out the fact that it couldn't be very comfortable for Peter to be doing this right now, out of breath and still fuzzy after his own orgasm, but the more primal side of his brain argued that it was Peter's own choice and that Saal wouldn't last long anyways. 

All it took was for Peter to drag his lips up the shaft, sink back down and do the-thing-with-the-tongue, and Saal was gone. Couldn't think. Couldn't breathe. Could only feel.

Gone, gone, gone.

Wave upon wave rushed through and out of him until his oxygen-deprived lungs forced Saal to finally gasp in a desperate breath and he felt himself ease down to a light tremble under the gentle caresses of the hands on his hips.

Peter's lips eventually left him and the Terran scooted up to collapse next to him.

Satisfied to regain their senses and calm their breathing for a few moments, it still didn't take long before Saal felt the need for contact and Peter suddenly rolled over and inched close without them ever speaking a word out loud as usual.  
After that, Saal yanked the covers over them and Peter was soon asleep on his chest, clearly still exhausted and sleep-deprived since the incident on the mining planet.

It would take a while longer for the Denarian to find his rest.

The physical exercise had removed the tension from Saal's mind and body, leaving him free to think and analyze without fear clouding his reasoning.

There was no denying that he had wondered how it was possible for him to have survived Ronan's attack, but the scars had left him so miserable that Saal hadn't really considered himself alive, much less a threat to the planet he'd given his life to save.

But, Nova Omega? It was hard to believe and he might have chosen not to, if it hadn't been for the shooting incident as well.

In the past, Saal would have simply ordered the Nova Corps to have him executed. It was too risky to have a potential Nova Omega wandering around freely. And Saal would have gladly given his life to make sure Xandar was safe.  
But now?

Suddenly Garthan Saal found himself with something else to live for.  
Someone.

He didn't want to die. He wanted to live, thanks to the man currently pressing his face against Saal's chest, that man who had awoken feelings and wants in him that Saal himself never knew existed.  
Wrapping an arm around Peter's waist, Saal hugged him a little tighter.

Control, he'd said. It was all about control.

If Saal learned to control the Nova Omega, then maybe he didn't have to die?

A bright glow flickered in the depths of his dark eyes as he reached inwards to sense just how much Nova Force was stored there. He needed to have an inkling of his own current strength.

It was all about control...


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Denarian Saal," Nova Prime tried to smile and nodded a greeting to the Terran as well. "Peter Quill."
> 
> "Nova Prime," Saal returned the greeting. "I apologize for my bluntness, Nova Prime, but there isn't really any time to waste. Is it true?"
> 
> Nova Prime avoided his eyes, something she'd never done before in all the years he'd known her.

Once Peter woke up, he went from sleepy to wide awake within a heartbeat when he realized he was alone in bed.

Bolting up into a sitting position, he gazed wildly around the room, but found it empty.  
No sign of Saal anywhere.

He was feeling the first flickers of panic when he realized that he could hear the shower running.

Falling back into the pillows, Peter ran his hands over his face and groaned relieved.

A little while later, Starlord glanced over when the door to the bathroom opened and watched with silent appreciation as Saal walked into the room, wearing only black training-pants and was toweling his hair dry.

Peter let his gaze trail over him like his hands would do whenever they were allowed to grace that gorgeous body.

Saal had been proud of it once. Peter could still see traces of it in the way he carried himself, the straight spine and easy confidence in his movements, but whenever he became conscious of the scars his posture would change.

Peter hated it whenever he would see the big man curl in on himself, radiating a vulnerability that was so very wrong on the arrogant man who had stared down his nose at Starlord before shipping him off to the Kyln without a second thought.

He let his eyes slide down the tempting neck, over the broad shoulders, briefly brush over the strong arms before shifting down to the flat stomach.  
The deceptively flat stomach that would tense up and reveal very nice muscles whenever Peter set fire to his blood.

Noticing he was being watched, the Denarian let the towel slide down to rest around his neck and gave a little smile. "Hey..."

Peter's heart did a flip as he saw affection softening the dark eyes and he had to force himself to smile back. "Well, hello there." He gestured him closer.

Hesitating, Saal eventually sauntered over with a wry smile. "Peter, I just had a shower," he chided without any real heat in his words.

"Don't worry," Peter replied with a smug look, tugging him down to sit next to him. "I won't do anything... messy." He leaned up to place a biting kiss over a mark he'd left on his neck earlier, savoring the shudder that rippled through Saal at the contact.

"Why am I not overly convinced?" The Denarian rumbled quietly, his eyes drifting shut as he unconsciously leaned towards the touch.

Laughing quietly, Peter placed some dwelling, yet chaste kisses to Saal's shoulder. "You were the one who paraded the goods in front of me. Can't blame a guy for wanting to cop a feel."

Saal laughed as well, but there was a tiny twitch to his torso that revealed his instinctive need to turn his scarred side away and possibly come with a quip about 'damaged goods', so Peter quickly dove forward to silence his lips with a languid kiss.

Peter had never been good with words, it was hard to find the right thing to say, but he was, as mentioned in the past, an excellent kisser! And now he was struck with an urge to keep kissing.

The soldier opened up to him willingly enough and Peter let a hand slide behind Saal's neck to keep him there.

Time and worries melted into background static and Peter found himself planning on setting a new galaxy record for the longest make-out session when the shrill sound of an incoming call broke the silence.

Saal started away, slightly disoriented for a second, then he dove for a t-shirt to pull on before answering the call.

Leaning back into the pillows again, Peter stared at Saal's tense back which was blocking his view of the screen while some person's voice announced that Nova Prime requested his presence at the Nova Headquarters as soon as he could attend.

He remained silent while Saal replied he would be there shortly and waited for him to hang up. Once the call was terminated and the soldier heaved a heavy sigh, Peter sat up again and moved over to slump against his back. "It's gonna be okay, big boy."

Peter didn't see it, but he heard the faint huff of a laugh and Saal nodded thoughtfully. "I hope you are right, Peter Quill. I really do."

-

It felt strange to be back in full official Denarian uniform again.

Saal had grown used to his half-civilian and half-Denarian uniform he'd put together based on practicality and comfort during his travels with Peter and his crew. He couldn't help but to feel like an imposter while wearing this uniform, as if he was wearing clothes belonging to someone else. 

The stares he got from everyone he passed was familiar though. Only this time there was fear in addition to the reactions to his scars.

Saal glanced over at Peter, walking leisurely by his side as if they were on a stroll to the park, and was strangely reassured in the calm and easy confidence on his face.  
Whatever happened, it looked like the Terran had complete faith in that they'd handle it.

While Saal himself had no such faith, he decided to lean a little on Peter's optimism.

Entering Nova Prime's office, a place where Saal had spent countless hours, he felt even more as an outsider as he and Peter came to a halt in front of Nova Prime's desk, with Prime and two Centurions on the other side and tension hovered thick in the air.

"Denarian Saal," Nova Prime tried to smile and nodded a greeting to the Terran as well. "Peter Quill."

"Nova Prime," Saal returned the greeting. "I apologize for my bluntness, Nova Prime, but there isn't really any time to waste. Is it true?"

Nova Prime avoided his eyes, something she'd never done before in all the years he'd known her. "We fear it may be so. There are certain... evidence that points towards it."

Fear coiled even tighter in Saal stomach and it took no small amount of will-power to keep himself calm. "Did you know?"

Sighing, Nova Prime stared at her desk. "I suspected." She hesitated. "After the attack on Xandar, no one could explain how you survived. It was... one of the theories. But as there were no symptoms..."

"You should have told me," Saal accused with silent anger. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Nova Prime's eyes darted up to his again and this time with sharp anger of her own. "Because you would have taken one step out of this office afterwards and shot yourself in the head!" She got up and placed both hands on the desk and leaned forward towards him. "And what if I was wrong? There were no signs of fluctuations in the Nova Force. You were already suffering under your injuries, looking for a way to disappear, not murder everyone in sight. I promised your parents to keep you alive, Saal!"

Blinking under the onslaught of words, Saal took a step backwards as if to flee from the truth in them and he bought himself a little time by studying the floor.

Nova Prime was right. If she had told him back then, he would finally have had an excuse to end his own suffering. But maybe that wouldn't have been such a bad thing, if the alternative was for him to turn into Nova Omega?  
Forcing himself to meet her eyes again, Saal swallowed hard. "But if I'm Nova Omega..."

"Not yet," Nova Prime interrupted, giving him a faint and shaky smile. "If you were, we wouldn't be having this conversation, Denarian Saal. You may have the potential, but you haven't crossed the line yet."

First Peter and now Nova Prime, both pointing out the same fact: Saal hadn't shifted yet.

"So what do you want me to do?" Saal asked, trying to ignore the hostile stares from the Centurions.

"Now you turn around and walk out of this office and do what I asked you to do during our last meeting," Nova Prime insisted gently. "It's the only way."

Frowning, Saal shook his head. "But... what about the Kree attacks? If they really have infiltrated the Nova Corps..."

"We have it under control," Nova Prime cut in. "It is not your concern, Denarian Saal."

The words left no room for any argument. It was pretty clear that he was shut out. Dismissed.

Clenching his jaw, Saal managed a slight bow. "Very well, Nova Prime."

-

Peter had to put in a couple of trotting steps to keep up with Saal's long strides after they left Nova Prime's office.  
He didn't even need to look at the Denarian's gloomy expression to know the man was not happy, feeling the tension radiating from him.

"Hey, man, look," Peter began, "it's not that bad, is it?"

Saal ignored him.

"Come on!" Starlord was getting a little annoyed himself by now. "We get to leave, no one has to die, why are you looking like someone pissed in your drink?"

Saal halted abruptly and spun around to face him. "Because this changes nothing. Nothing! I'm still a threat! And if I don't want to end up as Nova Omega I can't return home again!" He messed up his finely combed hairdo by drawing a frustrated hand through the black locks. "And that is in addition to breaking the vow I took when I joined the Nova Corps: to protect the people of Xandar. There are someone setting off bombs and what am I told to do about it?" He scoffed a harsh laugh. "Again, nothing! Just turn my back and leave. Leave, like people aren't being hurt when I promised to keep them safe."

Peter made a face. "Dude, I know you got some OCD about your duties as a Nova Corps soldier, but you're not the only soldier they got. If Nova Prime says they got this, then they got this. It's not your responsibility alone."

"Your word may not mean anything to you," Saal sniped with a sour look, "but I put my honor into mine and I gave my word to protect the people of Xandar!"

Narrowing his eyes, Peter felt anger licking up his spine. "Oh, we're back to 'the worthless criminal' now?"

The sour look on Saal's face was replaced with an apologetic and resigned expression. "Peter..." He sighed and turned his face away, turning his unscarred side towards Starlord. "I apologize. I didn't mean that. I just..." The soldier glanced back at him again. "It might seem foolish to you, but being a Nova soldier, protecting people... It's who I am. And to just turn my back when people could get hurt, when there might be trouble inside the Nova Corps itself, it's wrong!"

Peter felt a light smile tug at the corner of his mouth. Saal was partially right. He did think it was foolish to be risking your life to protect strangers without getting anything in return. Starlord wouldn't turn his back on someone needing his help, but he was no white knight, looking for people to save. Yondu had taught him too well for that.   
In a fairytale, Peter had no doubt he'd be the dashing pirate, stealing hearts and treasures alike, but Saal would appear as the hero, Prince Charming himself, to save the day.

But there was no denying that Peter Quill found Garthan Saal's stupidly noble attitude admirable.

Reaching out, Starlord let his hand slide behind Saal's neck and gently tugged him forward so he could lean his forehead against his. "I know, okay? I get it." He leaned back and tried a smile. "But the people on Xandar got the entire Nova Corps looking after them and Nova Prime got her eye on any trouble brewing inside. Out there in the galaxy, there are countless people who doesn't have anybody to turn to for help. You can do a lot of saving and protecting out there too, you know?"

Saal was unable to keep from smiling, if somewhat wearily, at the gesture to make him feel better. "I suppose."

Peter let his hand slide down to pat at Saal's chest. "So stop sulking. That's my job."

That actually made Saal laugh. "That is true."

Starlord rewarded him with a light thump to his shoulder before they began walking towards the exit again.

-

Lost somewhere between his own gloomy thoughts and Peter rambling on about whatever was on his mind at the moment, Saal was unprepared for a sudden jolt that went through his body.  
It felt like he had been brushed by an electrical prod.

Instinct, driven by something he'd never felt before, made the Denarian turn his head to glance at a Millennian passing them on his left side.

Their eyes met and in that brief moment, Saal knew it was the traitor.

As hard as it was to believe that anyone had been able to infiltrate the Nova Corps, Denarian Saal knew with every fiber of his being that this was that person.  
He didn't know how he knew, but there was suddenly no doubt in his mind.

Peter's speech was cut short as Saal spun around and reached out his hand.

Once again driven by instinct, Saal channeled the Nova Force and watched, every bit as wide-eyed as the Terran next to him, as the Nova Corps soldier was suddenly yanked up in the air by an invisible hand.

The Millennian made a startled sound, automatically clawing at his throat and kicking his feet, but was helplessly trapped in the invisible grip and could only stare in horror as he was slowly turned around to face his attacker.

"Dude!" Peter exclaimed in a high pitched voice. "Saal! What the hell?"

Keeping his glare on the soldier, Saal noticed a glow around his victim's neck like an invisible hand and it was probably what was holding him up. He had to keep himself from squeezing his own hand into a fist as he knew it would probably choke him. "This... is the traitor!"

He didn't want to break his neck. Not yet. Saal wanted information.

Peter stared from the hovering soldier to Saal and back again. "You... He... How?"

Ignoring the shouts from other startled soldiers, Saal kept his gaze on his prey. "He feels.... wrong."  
It was hard to explain. 

The Nova Force was everywhere, in the ground, in the people, in the air, strong and pure, but this Millennian's presence was like a stain on white linen. A fly in the soup. A disturbance in what Saal could now feel stronger than he'd ever experienced before.  
This was beyond what Centurions could do. Maybe even Nova Prime? 

If she could do this, wouldn't she already have weeded out the traitor?

A slight smile tugged at the corner of Saal's mouth and he unknowingly tightened his grip a little. "And I will teach him what happens to traitors who hurt my people."

"Saal," Peter objected, but the Terran was distracted by the sound of boots stomping towards them.

Denarian Saal didn't turn around, didn't have to, as he could feel the presence of several Centurions, a few Denarians and a couple of Corpsmen hovering nearby, in addition to Nova Prime herself.  
"Put him down."

Saal sneered a little with reluctance. "Nova Prime, this is the traitor you have been searching for. Give me a moment and I..."

"Put. Him. Down. Denarian Saal." Nova Prime's voice left no room for discussion.

Glancing over at her, puzzled and slightly hurt by her iron tone, Saal found no reassurance in her expressionless face. 

With a sigh, he lowered his hand, allowing the Millennian's feet to touch ground, but kept the golden grip on his throat so he wouldn't make a run for it.  
The other Nova Corps soldiers seemed confused and scared, uncertain of how to proceed, and Saal felt a little sick at the thought of them being afraid of him.

"I can help," Saal pleaded in a whisper, keeping his eyes on Nova Prime. "I just want to help..."

There was a moment of deathly silence, then, finally Nova Prime's eyes narrowed a little. "How do you know he is the traitor?"

So she couldn't feel the pollution then, Saal thought to himself, he could still be of value to her!

"Like I told Peter," Saal said, "it's hard to explain. He feels wrong."

No one seemed convinced and a flicker of fear of no one believing him shot through Saal. He turned to the still gasping Millennian and lifted him off the ground again. "Why are you aiding the Kree?"

"Denarian Saal." One of the Centurions this time, with a clear note of a warning in her voice.

"Answer me," Saal growled, tightening his grip harshly for a few seconds, making the soldier choke, then put him back on the ground and allowed him to breathe for a couple of heartbeats before speaking again. "Why is a Nova Corps soldier aiding the Kree?"

In his peripheral vision, the Denarian saw Nova Prime straighten to speak again, but she was suddenly interrupted by his prisoner's rasping voice.

"To make Xandar pay for what it has done!"

-

Peter blinked with surprise at the words, in addition to the hatred in the eyes of the man staring at Saal.

The Millennian was wearing the Nova Corps combat armor and helmet, so it was hard to say how he really looked like under there, but there was no mistaking the loathing in the eyes locked on Saal.  
So the Denarian had been right after all?

Peter hadn't really doubted it, but the sight of Saal using an invisible force to yank people up by their throats had thrown him for a loop. 

Garthan Saal was a warrior, no doubt about that, but he wasn't the violent-for-fun type and there had been more than a little glee at the hurt he was causing his captive.  
It made Peter uneasy.

He hadn't been overly happy to see the other Nova Corps soldier stare at Saal with fear when they came running, clutching their weapons like life-rafts, but it was even more unsettling to see the Denarian notice them staring at him with something akin to awe now.

There was that flicker of glee again, curled around the glow radiating from Saal's pupils.

Peter just advanced from uneasy to creeped out.

He crossed his arms and kept quiet, but made also sure to keep a careful eye on Saal.

"Explain yourself, traitor," the Denarian demanded, radiating authority and disdain, like he'd once done over the Guardians.

The Millennian coughed, giving a cruel grin through the pain of his bruised throat. "You all claim that the Kree are evil, yet the Nova Corps got every bit as much blood on its hands!" Another cough. "You will all pay for the lives you've taken!"

"That's enough," Nova Prime snapped. "We will take him into custody and get our answers there. We shall..."

A bright glow suddenly engulfed the Millennian, who soon screamed in pain, and Peter stared in horror as Saal held out his hand to pull the Nova Force out of the man.  
Everyone was too stunned to react.

And by the time anyone summed up the idea to do 'something', the glow vanished and the Millennian collapsed.

Saal stood with his eyes closed, lowering his hand, and the soldiers exchanged nervous glances.

Peter had to force himself to take a step closer and cleared his throat. "Uhm, Saal? Dude? What...?"

Opening his eyes, Saal had normal eyes again to Peter's relief, the Denarian gave him a triumphant smile before turning to the others.  
"Nova Prime, I took his Nova Force. He won't be any trouble to incarcerate." Saal indicated for the Nova soldiers to apprehend the Millennian before focusing on Nova Prime again. "And I was also able to get an inkling of his motives. It appears that he arrived on Xandar with his sister as a refuge during the last Kree war. His parents and a large amount of other relatives were killed in a raid by the Nova Corps. Last year, he was contacted by Kree fanatics who planted the hatred against Xandar."

Nova Prime's gaze flickered from the fallen soldier to Saal and occasionally Peter. She seemed pale. "I-I see..."

Saal nodded. "There were also a couple of factors that indicate that he might not have been acting alone." A dark expression settled on his face. "There's likely more of these traitors, I fear."

One of the Centurions took a step forward, staring at Saal with open admiration. "But you can find them, right?"

Allowing himself a smile, Saal straightened into a military pose, hands behind his back, and gave a decisive nod. "I believe so."

While the Nova soldiers chattered amongst themselves with excited optimism, Peter met Nova Prime's eyes and the two locked gazes.

Neither of them were smiling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, seems to be a lot of chapters ending on a gloomy notes lately... But have no fear, soon they will end in misery instead! ...Or rainbows and puppies. With this story, who knows! It was supposed to be a one-shot, remember?


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You are worried," the assassin said. "Do you believe Saal is going to turn into Nova Omega?"
> 
> A mere day ago, Peter would have scoffed at someone even suggesting that possibility. But now? Now he wasn't so sure...
> 
> "He's acting strange," Starlord mumbled. "And the longer he stays here, the worse it is gonna get."

Walking back to the Milano, alone, Peter still managed a faint smile as he saw the scene taking place outside of the ship.

He could see Gamora staring at the Nova soldier, eyes dangerously narrow, while the Millennian was speaking and holding out something towards her. It ended with the assassin jabbing a sharp finger into his chest, yelling something, before spinning on her heel and stomping back inside the Milano, leaving Ares with the look of a kicked puppy.

Huffing a quiet laugh, Peter sauntered up next to the man. "I don't know whether you're really brave or just... really stupid."

Ares started at his sudden appearance and tried to hide the box of truffles he'd brought as a gift behind his back before he merely slumped in defeat. "I don't... understand?"

Usually Peter would have just been thoroughly amused at the other man's misery, but he was currently wallowing in quite a bit of it himself and decided to at least ease the suffering for one of them.  
Sighing, Starlord leaned slightly towards him. "So, uh... Want to know what you're doing wrong?"

"What?" Ares turned to stare wide-eyed at him. "Is that... Do you... What?"

Grinning, Peter crossed his arms and nodded towards the ship. "You don't give a woman like that flowers and sweets, kid."

"I don't?"

"That there is Gamora, renowned warrior and assassin," Peter said, sliding an arm around Ares' shoulders and hugged him close. "Give her something she can use, buddy."

"Something she can... use?" Ares seemed even more confused now.

"Yep!" Peter grinned. "You're a clever guy. Have to be, as you're a Millennian and all, right? You'll figure it out."

He didn't wait for more questions, merely released the Nova Corps soldier and followed in Gamora's tracks to enter the Milano.

In the common room, he found both Gamora and Drax there.  
"Where's Rocket?" Peter asked before either of them could say anything.

"I sent him to get some supplies," Gamora replied. "It was either that or kill him. He doesn't deal well with being in one place without anything to do."

Smirking, Peter gave an understanding nod. "I know how he feels."

There was an exchange of glances between Gamora and Drax. 

Starlord wandered over to sit heavily in a chair and leaned back. "Oh, and by the way, I met your fan outside the ship, Gamora."

The woman made an annoyed sound and leaned against the table. "It's not funny, Peter. If he doesn't stop with those stupid gifts, I'm going to cut him."

Peter cleared his throat to hide his amusement. "Something tells me he's done with the, heh, stupid gifts."

"Good," Gamora stated. "Now, care to tell us why you're here? Where's Saal?"

Hesitating, Peter stared at the floor. "He's, uhm, busy." He reached back to rub at his neck. "They were going to find the ones responsible for the explosions. Him and the Nova Corps. "

"When are we leaving?" Drax sounded somewhere between bored and annoyed.

"I don't know," Peter sighed, letting his hands fall into his lap and leaned back to gaze at them in turn. "Listen, guys, I got no idea how long this thing is gonna last. You might wanna, I don't know, take off?"

Drax seemed to consider it, but Gamora shook her head.  
"You are worried," the assassin said. "Do you believe Saal is going to turn into Nova Omega?"

A mere day ago, Peter would have scoffed at someone even suggesting that possibility. But now? Now he wasn't so sure...

"He's acting strange," Starlord mumbled. "And the longer he stays here, the worse it is gonna get."

-

Rocket returned a few hours later. Peter was not prepared for how the little guy didn't start a fight over their departure being postponed yet again, but merely shrugged and decided to work on some weapon he was constructing.

When they all gathered for food that night, sans Saal that is, Starlord also had a sneaking feeling that they were doing it so he would take his mind off the one person missing.  
They succeeded.

It wasn't until the next morning when Peter opened his eyes and realized he was alone in bed in the Milano that he felt the unease return like a lead weight.

He passed the morning training with Drax, then spent a couple of hours playing cards with Rocket and Groot before curling up in the cockpit to listen to his walkman on his own.

Peter had no idea how long he'd been sitting there, eyes closed and trying hard to listen instead of worrying, when a light tapping on his shoulder started him out of his reverie.  
Yanking off the headset, he quickly glanced up and was more than a little surprised to see Saal standing there.

"I tried calling your name, but it appeared that you couldn't hear me," the Denarian offered with a slight smile.

Clearing his throat, Peter turned off the music and sat up straighter. "Yeah, I was..." He waved the words away and focused on the other man again. "You okay?"

"Of course," Saal said with a faint laugh. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Peter forced himself to smile and not dwell on the pinpoint glow at the center of Saal's eyes.

"Chasing bad guys and stuff, I was just wondering," Starlord replied. "I'm guessing your smug face means you found them all?"

Saal's grin widened and he moved over to sit down in the co-pilot seat, turning it so he was facing Peter. "Yes, both of them." He shook his head faintly, as if marveling at his own brilliance. "They've been looking for these villains for months, Peter, and I found them within hours! Even a couple of the Centurions thanked me for finding them."

Peter nodded, understanding too well how it must have felt for Saal to once again be looked at with admiration instead of disgust and fear. "And Nova Prime?"

The smile faltered a little on Saal's face and there was a little one-shoulder-shrug. "She, ah, I guess she's still worried."

"I can't say I don't get where she's coming from," Peter mumbled, fidgeting with the sleeve on his own leather jacket.

"What do you mean?"

Peter met his eyes again. "You're acting strange, man."

"Strange?" Saal frowned confused. "How?"

"The guy I know wouldn't take pleasure in hurting people," Peter said. "And yanking the Nova Force out of that soldier? You enjoyed hurting him, made sure it hurt."

Saal drew a sharp breath. "I didn't..."

"Dude, don't lie to me," Peter sighed. "Unfortunately I know you too well by now and that is one lie I really would have loved to believe."

The Denarian stayed frozen for a few seconds before he leaned slightly forward and frowned. "He hurt people, Peter. He would have hurt many more if given the chance. He got what he deserved."

Peter shrugged. "I'm not saying he didn't deserve it. I'm saying you enjoyed it."

Silence followed and hung heavy in the air until Starlord couldn't take it anymore.  
He cleared his throat and glanced over at Saal. "So... now what? Are you done? Can we leave?"

Predictably that made the soldier tense and avoid his eyes, all the answer Peter needed.

-

Struck by a strange kind of nervousness, Saal straightened as Peter got up from his seat. "Peter, I..."

Hesitating, the Terran paused in front of him and sent him a weary look. "You tell them."

Saal shook his head confused. "Who?"

"Rocket. Drax. Everyone. You tell them we're not leaving. You explain why."

Standing up as well, Saal nodded. "Of course." He shifted his weight uneasily. "And you are right. There was no just reason for me to hurt that villain. We have to be better than them. It won't happen again."

Peter gave him a brief smile, one that didn't quite reach his eyes, before heading for the common room.

It didn't take long to gather the Guardians in the common room, but Saal suddenly found himself feeling a little nervous as he stood before them.   
It almost felt like he was on trial...

Explaining what he had done that day, how he had tracked down the culprits within hours where the Nova Corps had spent months searching in vain, Saal tried to make them see how much more he could help his planet with his new powers.

"How long?" Gamora asked out of the blue.

Saal frowned quizzically.

"If you are asking us to stay here while you do your thing, I want to know for how long."

Noting how Peter lifted his chin slightly where he was standing at the opposite side of the room from Saal, arms crossed and facial expression closed, the Denarian had to clear his throat to buy himself time.  
"To be honest, Gamora, I doubt I can give you a set time frame." Saal glanced from one to the other. "I know that this is my business. This is not your problem. I would welcome your presence, but I have no problem understanding if you choose to leave to attend to your own affairs. I know you have things to take care of as well."

"What's in it for us to stay?" Rocket asked.

Considering the question for a second, Saal quickly calculated what would appeal the most to the raccoon. "Well, I can guarantee you the finest accommodations. Free of charge, of course. The same goes for food and beverages."

"Nice," Rocket commented with a fang-filled grin. "But, uh, what if I wanted to have a look at some of those Nova Corps weapons? I think I could... improve a couple of them."

"Consider it done," Saal replied. He then glanced over at Drax. "Drax?"

"My mission is to kill Thanos," the massive man grumbled. "I doubt I shall find him here."

Nodding, Saal tried to hide his disappointment. "I understand."

Gamora gazed over at Peter and Saal wondered if she had any more luck than him to read the stony expression on the Terran. "What are you going to do, Peter?" She asked.

The Terran met Saal's eyes briefly then turned to Gamora. "I haven't decided yet."

Starting, Saal realized he hadn't once considered that Peter might not stay on Xandar. He had merely taken it for granted that the Terran would remain by his side, even if the other Guardians might leave to do whatever their hearts desired.  
The thought of Peter leaving made Saal's stomach tighten anxiously.

"Then I will await you decision before making mine," Gamora stated.

Rocket jumped down from his chair and brushed imaginary dust off his pants. "Well, I'm staying until soldier-boy here starts charging me for stuff. C'mon, Groot."

"I Groot," the tree-like creature close to his own height agreed and the two shuffled out of the common room.

"Peter, a word in private?" The Denarian requested with a nod towards the door.

Peter patted Drax' shoulder with a heavy hand as he passed by the man, avoided Gamora's gaze, then walked over to Saal. "Alright. Let's go."

Saal kept quiet as he followed the other man and was lead to what appeared to be Peter's sleeping quarters. He glanced around, taking in the trinkets Peter had clearly kept from Terra and the big music box which Peter had always made out to be a master piece of genius engineering to improve the sound of his portable music box. It was... surprisingly appealing.  
The Denarian turned to voice his opinion to Peter, but the smile on Saal's face faded as he met the still expressionless mask Peter was wearing.

-

This wasn't how Peter had imagined introducing Garthan to the Milano and their new quarters, but life rarely cared what a lowly Terran wanted, right? If Starlord had a say in things, he probably wouldn't have been kidnapped all those years ago.  
"You wanted a word," Peter said. "Talk."

Saal almost flinched and he unknowingly straightened his shoulders as if going into a battle. "You're disappointed."

Peter shrugged, crossing his arms. "Right now there are too many things happening for me to know what the hell I am." He could still remember holding Saal's hand as he was hovering between life and death on that very bed. "I 'do' know that I think it's a bad idea for you to stay here."

Stepping closer to him, Saal tried to make him meet his eyes. "I appreciate that you are worried for me, Peter. I really do. But you were right before, you know?" He smiled. "This Nova Force thing? It's about control. Just like you said. As long as I control it, everything will be okay."

Looking into the once dark eyes, Peter noted the glow in them had grown from pinpoints to covering most of the inner circle. "How much have you really absorbed?"

Saal's gaze slid away and he shrugged. "No more than I can control."

"It's dangerous," Peter mumbled.

"Yes, " Saal agreed. "But it has its merits as well."

Feeling dangerously close to sulking, Peter glared at him. "Like what?"

Saal seemed to consider it then took a step back and closed his eyes with a look of firm concentration.

Peter was about to ask him what the hell he was doing, but then there was a flash of light and he could only stare as the glow, which had once saved Saal's life, now appeared to cover the scarred skin.  
The glow grew in intensity as Saal's frown deepened, soon making it impossible to see the skin underneath, before it started to fade and left behind smooth unblemished skin.

Saal opened his eyes, lifting a hand to his once scarred neck, breathing a relieved smile. "See?" His fingertips trailed over his own skin as if he couldn't really believe it. "Rather handsome again, don't you think?"

Less concerned about the vanishing scars and more worried that the glow was now covering just about Saal's entire eyes, Peter shook his head with a sad look. "Dude... I told you, they didn't bother me. The only one who thought they mattered were you, Garthan."

Saal snorted amused, taking a step closer to him. "Yes. Me and the entire planet of Xandar."

"Who cares what they think?" Peter snarled, suddenly irrationally angry at those superficial people who couldn't see past ruined skin to see the value of the man underneath. "If they can't see what I saw, their loss, buddy!"

Saal's grin widened and he was suddenly dangerously close. "Want to find out what else I can do?"

Peter considered turning him down, the hungry touch to the smile leaving little doubt as to what he was thinking of, but then an inner voice pointed out that this might be the last time he got the chance to be with him... Why not have a final night at least?  
Starlord slowly reached up and touched light fingertips to Saal's lips. "I always said that I was willing to try everything at least once."

And when the Denarian kissed his fingertips before ducking around them to kiss his lips, Peter became painfully aware that it still felt so damn right.

One of Saal's arms slid around his waist and pulled Starlord against him, making Peter automatically place his own hands on the soldier's hips while the kiss deepened along with the rising temperature in their blood.

It was more by instinct that conscious thought that made Peter open Saal's jacket and shove it over his shoulders to fall to the floor.  
The closer he got to Saal's skin, the more Peter could sense the power humming just underneath it.

For a heartbeat he wondered if it really was Garthan Saal who was kissing him or if it was Nova Omega.

-

There were slight flutters of hesitation in Peter's movements at times, but they grew fainter and rarer by every kiss between them.

Removing the red leather jacket and not waiting for it to hit the floor before he started tugging up Peter's shirt, Saal was getting impatient to feel skin.  
He sighed satisfied once the Terran's torso was bared and he could let his hands slide over those lovely muscles.

Somewhere in between struggling to undress each other, they also inched towards the bed and Saal snorted amused once they tumbled down on it.  
Lying on his side, half-hovering over Peter, the Denarian slid a hand down Peter's stomach with a teasing grin. "So this is the bed you were bragging about?"

Peter nodded and was about to say something, but the words disappeared in a groan as Saal's hand was now cupping the part of him who had no trouble forgetting worries and just go with the moment.

Saal caressed and teased, enjoying the sight of Peter flustered and writhing under his touch, but finally moved up to open the pants while leaning down to whisper in his ear: "I like it."

"I hoped you would," Peter choked out in response, but there was that tone of sadness again and it made Saal even more determined to make the Ravager see the benefits of his newly found powers!

Channeling the Nova Force into his touch, the Denarian smirked as it made Peter gasp, arch up off the bed and grab a hold of his shoulder to anchor himself.  
With the Nova Force at his command, Saal could feel everything sharper, including Peter's desire.  
He suddenly knew exactly where to add a little zest to his touch to make the other man tremble and groan helplessly. 

It didn't take long before all their clothes were off after that and this time it was Saal who asked the question.  
"What do you want, Peter?"

Unable to form words, the Terran merely hugged him close and rolled his hips up against his.

Desire flooded Saal's brain for a moment, reducing him to Peter's state, but then his brain kicked in again and he hoped the man underneath him was a creature of habit.  
Luckily he was and the nightstand provided Saal with the small bottle he desperately needed.

Pushing into the glorious heat almost made the Denarian lose control, especially when Peter wrapped his legs around him and dug his teeth into his neck, but he didn't really snap before the Ravager clenched down hard around him.

Spurred into an eager chase for a climax, Saal channeled some of his desire into the Nova Force and seeped it over to Peter, who was already fighting to breathe under the heavy want of it all.

It was so intense. Almost too intense.

The pleasure kept building, against all odds and reason, sweat made their skin slippery and tension made their muscles tremble. 

Peter toppled over the edge first, despite how Saal was pretty damn sure he hadn't hit that perfect spot inside him. The power spiking and swirling inside the Denarian obviously affected him as well.  
And pretty hard too, by the sound of Peter's groans, but Saal's release soon followed and his own lips failed to hold back similar sounds as well.

Saal slid over to lie next to Peter and they were both panting hard and rebooting their brains for a long time.

Finally the Denarian placed a trying hand to Peter's chest.

The Terran picked it up, lifted it to press his lips against it, then held it against his thundering heart while he turned his face away.  
-


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter had been right, Saal concluded. He 'had' been acting strange. Not like himself at all. Was it because of the Nova Force? 
> 
> Whatever the reason, Saal knew Peter had been right about one more thing.
> 
> Saal needed to get away from Xandar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not dead and neither is this story. Apologies to anyone still reading this. We're approaching the final chapters now. I promise!

It had always been Saal who got up first, the one who insisted on cleaning up and getting dressed, as if doing nothing but enjoying the present was a crime, but this time the Denarian was the one lying on the bed and watching Peter disappear into the bathroom and appearing fully dressed.

Ironically he also realized this time it was Peter, not him, who put up the barrier preventing them from being together.

When Garthan Saal had been chained to his promise to serve Xandar and Peter was a criminal set on his ways, the Denarian had seen no future for them. Now, however, while he was freed from his chains, Peter feared his new powers to the extent that he failed to see all the good Saal could do with them.

The knot of unease in his stomach reminded him that the Terran had not yet decided if he was staying on Xandar or leaving both the planet and Saal behind.

What if Peter made him chose?   
Xandar or Peter Quill?

Had he not given enough for the defense of Xandar already, an inner voice snarled. And what had he gotten in return?   
Strange how that inner voice sounded like Peter, Saal thought with a wry smile.  
Granted, he was somewhat bitter and resentful at how he had been treated after the fight against Ronan, but wasn't rising above such base feelings a part of what made Nova Corps better than others?

But was protecting Xandar his responsibility alone? The inner voice kept insisting. Nova Prime had spared his life, despite the danger of Nova Omega, yet even she considered him more of a possible threat against Xandar now instead of an ally in keeping it safe.  
Why stay where you are not wanted?

Sighing, Saal flopped back on the bed and stared at the ceiling.

Everything was so bloody complicated!

His mind was saying one thing, while his heart made a completely different argument.

"Are you staying?" Peter asked, quickly clarifying: "I mean, here. On the ship. Tonight. Or are you heading back to ... wherever?"

Saal rolled over on his side to meet his gaze, trying to smile. "Are you kicking me out?"

"You know I'm not," Peter replied, not rising to the joke.

"Then I would like to stay," Saal said. "For a little while longer, if that is alright with you?"

Peter nodded, hesitated, then merely turned and walked out of the room.

Saal hesitated a while longer, contemplating his options, but had to leave the bed none the wiser.

When he finally entered the common room, he found Peter, Drax, Rocket and Groot there. As always the conversation between them was loud, unstructured and filled with oddly contradicting statements.  
For some odd reason, it made him smile.

Garthan Saal had not been a part of their crew for long, but he couldn't deny the slightly familiar feel to the setting and it was soothing. 

"Hey!" Rocket said, pointing at Saal. "Your face!"

Saal lifted a hand to his face, half-expecting to feel the scars once more under his touch but found nothing but smooth skin. "Yeah, I, ah, it's... I learned some new things."

Rocket slowly lowered his paw with a thoughtful sound. "Huh." Then he turned to Drax and picked up their previous argument.

Moving over to stand next to the sitting Peter, Saal snuck a light hand behind the Terran's neck and gave it a gentle, affectionate squeeze. Peter responded by reaching up, automatically placing his hand over Saal's lower arm and giving a light squeeze of his own, not taking his eyes off Drax or stopping his rant about whatever they were discussing.  
The touch was an unspoken statement of mutual feelings, something Saal was still nervous about displaying but which came as natural to Peter as breathing.

\- What the hell am I doing?   
The thought suddenly struck Saal.   
\- I don't want to give up this. Him. Them. What is wrong with me...?

Strangely relieved and even more worried at the same time, Saal sank down on the seat next to Peter and tried to ignore how the unease caused a disturbance in the Nova Force inside of him.

Peter had been right, Saal concluded. He 'had' been acting strange. Not like himself at all. Was it because of the Nova Force? 

Whatever the reason, Saal knew Peter had been right about one more thing.

Saal needed to get away from Xandar.

-

Peter glanced over as Saal sat down next to him and he blinked with surprise, but then he couldn't fight off the growing grin at the sight that met him.

The Denarian was sending him a puzzled look, not that unusual, but Peter was beyond relieved to see the glow in Saal's eyes had reduced itself to mere pinpoints again.  
It wasn't much, but Starlord decided it meant that Garthan was still in there. Still fighting.

A few arguments later, where both Rocket and Drax were wrong and most certainly not Peter, they were approaching a 'what is for dinner' argument when Gamora entered the room as well.

"Saal," she called out in a flat voice. Her only reaction to the now flawless face was a brief frown.

Still with a slight smile after Rocket's last Peter imitation, Saal straightened and shifted his focus over at her. "Yes?"

Nodding towards the cockpit, Gamora spoke again. "Your people just called. They want you back at the HQ. As soon as possible."

As soon as possible? Peter wondered why the sudden urgency? Strange. Very strange.

Starlord moved to follow as Saal got up, a tense request for him to be careful on his lips, but the soldier placed a hand to his shoulder and gently prevented him from getting up.

"It's okay," Saal said. "Stay here. It shouldn't take long. Probably some formalities about those criminals we picked up earlier."

Peter nodded, not convinced at all, but knew there would be no point in trying to argue with him.

Saal was about to leave, but halted abruptly and gazed back down at the Terran. "Just... Don't leave without me. Okay?"

Blinking confused once again, Peter gave a little shake of his head. "You know I wouldn't do that to you, dude."

"Just... promise," Saal insisted quietly.

Starlord shrugged. "Uh, alright, sure, I promise."

There was no mistaking the relief on Saal's face and the soldier gave Peter's shoulder a light nudge before he turned on his heel and left.

Peter stared at the empty doorway for a few seconds before turning back to the others and rejoining the food discussion while his mind raced to find credible explanations as to why Saal had been summoned.  
They wouldn't dare do anything stupid, would they?

Surely not. 

All who had ever challenged Nova Omega had ended up dead.

An effort at appealing to his logic or sense of duty then? To ensure that he would stay?

Lost in his thoughts, Peter almost thought he had conjured up Saal when he saw the Nova Corps uniform in his peripheral vision, but then he heard Rocket snicker and Gamora curse.

"You again?" The assassin snarled.

"Apologies, Lady Gamora," Millennian Ares stuttered, bowing respectfully where he was standing in the doorway. "I will not stay long."

Rocket was humming something about 'sitting in a tree' and some letters.

Gamora got up and let her hands hang dangerously close to the daggers on her belt. "I already told you, I do not want any of your flowers or chocolates."

Peter hid a smile behind a hand as he leaned back in his chair, far too casual to seem casual.

Ares cleared his throat and nodded, raising a hand in a calming gesture. "So you did, Lady Gamora, and it has been duly noted. I just..."

"What?" Gamora snapped, clearly more than a little annoyed.

The Nova Corps soldier drew a quick breath and held forward a white box before he lost his courage. "I just wanted you to have this."

Gamora's mouth became a thin line and she was about to lose her temper when Starlord butted in.  
"Just take the damn gift," Peter stated.

If looks could kill, he would have been one dead Ravager.

Once she had stink-eyed Peter sufficiently enough, Gamora stepped forward and yanked the box from the nervous Millennian.  
The woman opened the box with little grace, tearing up the wrapping with the look of someone who did not have time for this nonsense, a look of annoyance that soon faded as she opened it and found what was inside.

Peter had to force himself to sit still despite how his curiosity was killing him. Whatever the guy had put inside that box, it was clearly something that intrigued even warrior queen Gamora!  
Finally his curiosity was sated as she daintily picked up two small, sharp and elegant throwing knives.

While Gamora studied the knives, Peter snuck a glance over at the pale Ares and gave a little nod.

The Millennian lit up with a huge grin.

A grin that wilted the second Gamora sent him a chilly glare, but finally the assassin let the knives slide into her belt. "So what do you want?"

"What do I...?" Ares asked confused.

"You're giving me gifts," Gamora stated, absently slapping Peter at the back of his head for rolling his eyes at her. "Why? What are you hoping to gain in return?"

"I don't..." Ares began, but then the ground started to shake and the lights began to flicker like crazy.

-

Scrambling to their feet, the Guardians stared at each other in confusion before Peter stumbled over to Ares.   
"What the hell is going on?" Starlord yelled, having to raise his voice to be heard over the sound of pots and pans and whatnots falling down around them.

"I have no idea!" Ares yelled back.

For a moment Peter did not believe him, but there was nothing but confusion and fear in the Millennian's eyes, so Starlord turned to the others.

Gamora was staring thoughtfully up at the flickering lights.

Rocket was trying to stay on his feet on top of the table. "Whatever is going on, it's gotta be big!"

Peter was about to reply when Ares suddenly buckled and would have fallen if not for Starlord catching him.  
The Millennian was pressing a hand to his chest and making a pained sound as a faint glow was starting to surround him.

Staring with wide-eyed shock at what was happening, Peter struggled to keep from dropping the soldier on his face. "Dude! What! Seriously, WHAT is going on?"

"Nova Force," Ares gasped, managing to gaze bleary eyed up at Peter. "I'm losing my Nova Force..."

Dread hit Peter hard and he numbly spoke his fear out loud. "Saal..."  
He made sure the soldier was able to stand on his own then Peter turned to the others. "Stay here. Keep the Milano ready. You might wanna be ready to leave in a hurry."

"Not happening," Gamora stated. "We are not leaving you behind. Or him."

Rocket had already pulled out a couple of concealed weapons from underneath the dining table. "Watched him die once, Quill. Ain't doing that again."

Touched by their loyalty, Peter gave a little nod. "You're a bunch of suicidal idiots, but if you're looking for me to talk you out of it, you're fresh out of luck. Let's go."

"I can help too," Ares straightened in an effort to seem unaffected by whatever was going on.

"Come on, man, you can barely stand up," Peter stated. 

"I can get you into the Nova Headquarters," the soldier replied.

Hesitating, Peter decided there was no denying that it would simplify things for them and allow them to reach Saal much faster than if they had to fight their way through.  
"Drax," Starlord called out. "Help our friend here keep up with us."

"Very well," the big guy rumbled, hovering uncomfortably close behind the soldier judging by the look on Ares' face.

By now the worst quakes were calming down, but it did little to reassure Peter and he quickly made his way off the ship and headed for the Nova Headquarters, closely followed by his allies, leaving only Groot to keep the Milano ready to take-off.

Varying degrees of chaos were breaking out as they were making their way towards their destination and Peter was keeping a wary eye on one of the Nova ships looking mightily wobbly where it was hovering mid-air.

Predictably they got stopped trying to enter the Nova Headquarters, but Ares did keep his word and got them inside by flashing his own rank at the guards.

"So what's the plan?" Rocket asked as they got into the elevator.

Peter stared at the numbers counting the floors as they moved towards the top floor and Nova Prime's office. "The plan is we grab Saal and leave."

"That's... the plan?" Ares piped up in a small voice. "I mean, that's it? It's a bit... vague, if I may say so?"

"We've worked with less," Gamora said.

Rocket snorted a laugh. "Yeah, with twelve percent, to be precise."

Peter rolled his eyes, silently lamenting how unappreciated he was, but then a loud ding noise proclaimed that they had reached their destination and the doors slid open.  
Slowly raising his hands in a gesture of surrender, Peter blinked wide-eyed at all the Nova soldiers gathered in front of the elevator, pointing their weapons at them. "Dudes, relax, at ease, guys!"

Gamora reached out and calmly placed her hand on Rocket's weapon and made him lower it as well.

"It's Peter Quill," a soldier suddenly declared, a Denarian, and everyone started talking at once.

Peter, still with his hands up, took a step forward. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. One at the time, okay?"

Two Centurions stepped through the crowd and halted on each side of Starlord. "Peter Quill?"

"Uh," Peter glanced around for the hidden cameras to reveal the prank, but finally had to give a little shrug along with his response, "yeah?"

The Centurions pulled up their weapons to aim at him. "You will come with us. He will have to surrender if we have you."

Peter waved at the Guardians to keep back and to not attack the Nova soldiers. "Guys, what the hell is going on?" He lifted his hands again when one Centurion prodded his weapon at him to make him take a step forward. "Listen, is it Saal? It's Saal, right? Let me talk to him!" A reluctant step forward at yet another prod. "If you let me talk to him, I can make him chill, okay? Listen, dammit! Using me as a hostage? Bad idea! He won't like that. At all. Just let me talk to him! I can fix this!"

"Move, Ravager," one of the Centurions snarled, clearly not interested in anything Peter had to say.

Closing his eyes for a second, sensing in every bone in his body that this was a recipe for trouble, Peter then followed the Nova soldiers towards the doors leading to the inner sanctum of Nova Prime's office.

-

Saal was furious.

When he had been summoned to the Nova Headquarters, he had assumed it was Nova Prime and had waited until called and entered her office without a second thought.

At first, it was only confusion that filled him as the doors slammed shut behind him and he found himself facing three Nova Corps officers, one Centurion and two Denarians, but irritation started seeping in as they put forth their demands that he relinquish his Nova Force and be imprisoned for the well-being of Xandar.

Howerver, it was only when they make a grab for his powers by force that anger entered the picture.

Saal pushed back and turned the tables on them by pulling the Nova Force out of them instead.

(He might have gone a little overboard with that, Saal mused. Things got a little fuzzy once he started draining them. Suddenly the Nova Corps soldiers were lying on the floor, lights were flickering on and off... He couldn't quite remember what had happened. It was getting harder to remember things, actually.)

That was when the door to the office was opened and Saal turned, ready to explain that he had only defended himself against the three, but froze once he saw Peter and the Nova soldiers holding their guns aimed at him.

"Saal, don't," Peter said, but was prodded to silence by a gun.

"Denarian Saal," the soldier on Peter's left side said, "surrender and the Terran will not be hurt."

Saal could see the fear in Peter's eyes, even if the fear did not, strangely enough, seem to be originating from the guns pointed at him. Still, the mere fact that these people DARED place their hands on Peter Quill and threaten him made pure red-hot rage flare up.

"No," Peter yelled, taking a step forward and was quickly restrained by one of the soldiers. "Saal, no!"

"I wanted to protect this planet," Saal snarled, feeling the Nova Force welling up inside him until it seeped through his skin and surrounded him with a fierce glow. "I wanted to help! And you treat me like a villain? You threaten the one person I cherish higher than Xandar?"  
He clenched his hands into fists, trembling with blind fury. "Get your bloody hands off him!"

There was a violent flash of light, screams, and once Saal was able to see again, he saw the soldiers on the floor and Peter standing amongst them in a semi-crouched position, shielding his eyes.

Sensing the Nova soldiers' distress in the Nova Force, tasting their distrust and fear due to his mere presence, Saal sneered angrily.  
"You all want me to be a villain?" He clenched his hands into fists again, unflinching as the windows exploded and shards flew through the air. "Fine. I will act like one."

"Denarian Saal!" 

Starting, Saal was surprised to see Nova Prime standing in the doorway and automatically lowered his stance. "Nova Prime..."

He saw her peruse the fallen soldiers with a grief-stricken expression on her face and guilt suddenly welled up inside him, forcing Saal to speak up in his own defense. "They attacked me!"

The sorrow in Nova Prime's eyes didn't lessen when her gaze came to rest on him, but seemed to grow. 

"They lured me here and attacked me," Saal hated the pleading tone to his voice, his pride snarling under his well-trained obedience to the higher ranking woman. Why was he the one who had to apologize and explain himself? It wasn't like he had done anything wrong!   
Nova Prime's pity and Peter's wide-eyed stare made Saal's skin crawl.

"Did you know?" The Denarian asked her, suspicion rearing its head among the bitter anger. "Did you know what they planned to do?"

Shaking her head, Nova Prime sent the fallen men another mournful glance. "No."

"Of course not," Saal spat. "When have you ever known anything? You failed to protect us from Ronan. You failed to stop the Kree in my absence. Your soldiers conspire behind your back because they have no faith in you."

-

Peter couldn't believe what he was hearing. 

While he wasn't happy about Saal hurting the Nova soldiers, he could understand the need to defend himself, but the verbal jabs against the woman who had basically raised him was both petty and cruel. Words he'd never associated with Denarian Garthan Saal.

Judging by how her face grew ghostly white, Saal's words cut Nova Prime deep, but the woman managed to hold her head high.

"You are right, Denarian Saal," she said in a quiet voice. "I have made mistakes. I cannot undo the past. I can only hope that some of them are not beyond fixing."

When she raised a hand towards Saal, Peter glanced over at the Denarian and saw him frowning confused.

"What..." Saal began, but then jerked rigid as if someone had attached invisible strings to his shoulders and pulled them tight. Shock and betrayal was painted on his face.

For half a second, Peter was torn between the urge to come to his aid and the realization that interfering might be extremely unwise at that moment, but he didn't have much longer to ponder his dilemma before Saal tore free from the invisible hold and stumbled a step forward.

Peter did not like the look in Saal's eyes. Or the cruel snarl on his lips.

"You try to take my powers away from me?" Saal growled in an even deeper voice. "You attack me and try to take the Nova Force away? You!"

Nova Prime raised both her hands for her attack this time, fear and courage battling for dominance, but Saal barely reacted, twitching like she had given his left shoulder a light push.

That was when Saal reached out his own hand in return and before Peter could react, he clenched it into a tight fist and a massive wave of Nova Force was torn out of the screaming Nova Prime.

Once the Nova Force was gone, Nova Prime collapsed and Peter scrambled over to kneel beside her. He was relieved to find that she was still breathing, but a quick look over at Saal did nothing to ease his worry.  
The Denarian was glowing even stronger, his eyes shining a bright blue light of pure energy.

"You don't deserve the Nova Force," Saal stated, clenching his hands and making the entire building tremble. "None of you do."

And just like that, Saal was gone.

Peter straightened slightly with surprise. "Saal! Wait!"   
A faint groan from Nova Prime made him focus on her again. "Nova Prime! Are you okay?"

"Peter Quill..." Her voice was a little weak and shaky, but she managed to take a hold of his wrist. "You have to stop him..."

"How?" Peter blurted out. "Did you see him? I mean, you're his boss and he just... And I don't even know where he went!" Was he still wearing his wristband...?

Nova Prime tightened her grip on him. "He's going after the Worldmind. If he destroys the Worldmind... Peter Quill, you have to stop him. For all of our sakes. He will not stop at killing everyone on Xandar. Nova Omega won't stop. Ever." She leaned up slightly. "Garthan would not want to become this... thing. This monster. A murderer. You know that."

Nodding resigned, Peter gently lowered her to the floor. "Will you be okay...?"

"If you don't stop him, Peter Quill, none of us will be okay," Nova Prime declared quietly.

Straightening, looking at the doors leading out of the office, Starlord took a deep breath. "He won't hurt me. Not yet." Though that might change the second Saal realized that Peter was there to stop him.

Stepping out of the office, the Terran was surprised to find the other Guardians still there.

Drax was tending to a fallen Nova soldier, while Rocket and Gamora was kneeling next to the sofa which Ares was now bleeding all over.

Gamora was pressing down on what appeared to be a nasty stomach wound and only sent Peter a quick glance before focusing on the wound again. "What happened?"

"I think that's my line," Peter said, walking over to sofa. 

"He got hit when the windows exploded," Rocket explained. "A big piece of glass went straight into him." The raccoon hesitated before looking up at Peter. "It was Saal, wasn't it?"

Peter nodded, staring at Gamora's hands now covered in blood, much like his own had been when he'd brought Saal back to Xandar.

"What do we do now, Peter Quill?" Drax asked.

"Now," Peter said, "we stop him."


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Are you sure you're ready for this?" Rocket asked, looking up at him.
> 
> Peter drew a deep breath. "No."
> 
> Then he started walking down the hall, towards the massive AI and Nova Omega.

"What's the plan?" Rocket asked.

Peter glanced around the room, trying to decide how to proceed without making an even bigger mess out of an already messy situation.

His gaze dwelled on Millennian Ares, who was dangerously pale and breathing pained huffs under Gamora's hands pressing down on his bleeding stomach.  
Starlord had a sickening feeling that for Ares it wouldn't matter whether they managed to stop Saal or not... 

"Gamora, you stay here," Peter said, noting her annoyed glance his way and knew she was torn between wanting in on the action and feeling the fear in the dying man under her touch.

"Drax," Peter continued, moving his focus over on the big guy kneeling next to a dazed Nova soldier. "Nova Prime is down for the count. Help her out, okay? And whatever happens, don't let them send more guys after Saal. I don't want no more people hurt."

Drax nodded and after a slight hesitation, Gamora nodded as well.

"What about me?" Rocket asked.

Peter sighed. "I'm going to need you to come with me." He lifted a hand to rub his eyes wearily before picking up a blaster from the floor and sticking it into the lining of his pants behind his back. "And bring your weapons."

That made all of the Guardians stare at him, but Peter didn't hang around to meet their judgment.  
He had to find Saal.

Nova Prime had said that Saal would go after the Worldmind so that was where he was going to start.

Entering the elevator with Rocket, Peter appreciated the silence from the raccoon as he pressed the button that would bring them to the AI controlling Xandar's Nova Force, the Worldmind.

He'd heard stories about the Worldmind, but the Ravager had never pictured himself actually seeing it.

Had it been any other day, under other circumstances, Peter would have been thrilled at the idea!  
Hell, he might've even been attempted to plan an attempt to steal something there!  
Now it was suddenly the last place he wanted to be...

Moments later the elevator doors opened and revealed open safety blockades and a hallway with several fallen Nova soldiers.  
Peter clenched his jaw hard, cursing silently.

"What are we going up against here, Quill?" Rocket nervously hoisted a massive weapon from his back.

Shaking his head, Starlord took a step forward and sighed. "Man, I have no idea..." He glanced up at the ceiling as the lights flickered briefly. "But something tells me we'd better hurry..."

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Rocket asked, looking up at him.

Peter drew a deep breath. "No."

Then he started walking down the hall, towards the massive AI and Nova Omega.

-

As they were approaching a massive door at the end of the long hallway, the lights flickered again and someone screamed.

Peter exchanged looks with Rocket and stuck his chin out towards left while he himself moved to the right side of the door.

Once they had taken up positions on both sides, Peter gathered his courage and pushed the door open.  
Inside was a huge oval room, white walls and no furniture, but with yet another door at the other side.

And in the middle of the room, surrounded by fallen Nova soldiers, was Nova Omega.

There was no other way to describe him.

Peter froze at the sight.

The man who had once been Denarian Garthan Saal was completely surrounded by the glow of the Nova Force, his eyes were flaring a radiant blue and were devoid of any emotion.  
It was like looking at a living nuclear explosion.

Everything inside Peter was screaming for him to turn and run away as fast as he could.

Movement caught his attention and Starlord numbly realized that Rocket was inching his way inside the room and was making progress along the left wall.

Swallowing, Peter had to force his legs to work and took a few unsteady steps towards Nova Omega.

It appeared that the being was in a world of its own, unaware of the intruders, staring blindly ahead at nothing.  
The ceiling lights flickered a couple of times.

Peter stopped a few steps away from the shell of the man once known as Saal, unable to take his eyes off of him, wanting to call his name but was unable to find his voice.

The sound of someone powering up a gun cut through the silence and Nova Omega slowly turned his head to look at Rocket aiming at him with a smaller and yet more powerful version of the Hadron Enforcer.

There was no visible reaction on Nova Omega's face. He merely stared at Rocket for a long while, then he slowly clenched his right hand into a fist.

"No!" Peter blurted out loud.

Rocket started and quickly shifted his gaze over to Starlord while Nova Omega slowly turned his head to glance back at the Terran instead.

Peter gulped down air and took one more trembling step towards the former Denarian, stopping within reach. "Don't... Don't hurt Rocket, man. Just... don't."

Rocket frowned and readjusted his grip on the weapon. "Peter, what...?"

Lifting a hand, gesturing for Rocket to be quiet, Peter forced himself to keep his gaze on Nova Omega. "Just... You gotta stop this, dude. We can't let you do this. You know that. You gotta stop."  
There was no disguising the weak plea as anything but exactly that.

Nova Omega then turned to face him completely, face blank and glowing eyes still devoid of any sentiment. 

To Peter's horror he suddenly felt on the verge of tears as he saw nothing of Saal in those eyes.  
"Please..." The Terran whispered, slowly moving his other hand behind his own back. "Stop." He felt the tip of his fingers brush by the hilt of the gun he'd brought. "Don't make me do this..."

As much as the idea of pulling the trigger made it hard to breathe, Peter knew Saal would rather be dead than this... thing. He would never forgive Peter for being able to prevent Xandar's destruction, but letting millions of people die instead of him.

Peter's fingers locked around the hilt of the gun and he pulled it up an inch. "Garthan..."

\- Don't make me do this, Peter kept pleading inside his head. - Oh gods, please, don't... Don't make me do this...

Nova Omega blinked his eyes drowsily, a faint frown suddenly marring his features.

"Garthan, please..." Peter shifted his grip on the gun, pulling it up half an inch, scanning Nova Omega's eyes in hopes of seeing a trace of the man he once knew.  
And just like that, he did.

After a second blink, Nova Omega's eyes opened and revealed the dark eyes of Garthan Saal.

Peter drew a sharp breath and his hand immediately released the gun. "Garthan!"

-

"Peter..." Saal whispered, frowning confused. "Peter, you got to..." He half-turned his face away, as if he forgot what he was about to say.

Quickly reaching out, Peter grabbed a hold of Saal's jacket with both hands. "Saal, hey, stay with me."

Saal avoided his eyes, shaking his head. "I... I don't..." The glow surrounding him grew stronger and then weakened at random intervals. "Peter, you have to get away... I can't..."

Peter moved his hands up to cup Saal's face between them, making him meet his eyes. "Look at me."

After making a few weak attempts to turn his face away and pull free, Saal finally met his gaze.

"You gotta stop this, Saal," Peter whispered intently. "I know you can stop this."

"I can't," Saal admitted in exhausted defeat. "It's too strong! I can't..."

"Yes, you can!" Peter insisted, leaning closer with a smile. "You're stronger."

Saal merely shook his head, the glow in his eyes flickering in and out of existence, clearly on the verge of fading out again.  
The lights in the ceiling began to flicker as well.

"Garthan," Peter called out, tightening his grip a little to make him focus on him again. "Listen to me, okay? Why do I keep saying you can beat this? Because I trust you. I know you, man. I believe in you." He smiled and moved one hand up to draw his fingers through the black hair, pushing back the bangs from Saal's face. "Because I love you, you jackass. Remember?"

Saal trembled, raising a hand to gently grasp a hold of Peter's lower arm. "Peter..."

Waggling his eyebrows with a pale smile, Peter shrugged one shoulder. "Prove me right."

Exhaling a laugh, Saal hesitated before slowly leaning forward, giving Peter all the time in the world to move away, and closed his eyes in relief when their lips met.

It was a soft, chaste kiss that lingered for several seconds before Saal straightened again.  
He was still pale and shaken, but there was a familiar stubborn shine to his dark eyes now.  
"I have to... hurry."

Peter slid his hand behind Saal's neck, giving it a careful squeeze. "I'm with you. Yeah?"

Saal nodded, managing a hint of a tired smile before moving his gaze up at the ceiling and focusing the Nova Force inside him.

He felt the rush of power flood over him again, heard Rocket's voice call out for them from a distance, then Saal allowed the light to engulf him and Peter both and carry them away.  
When he opened his eyes, Saal was relieved to see that they had ended up where he had intended and focused on holding Peter up until he regained his balance.

Gulping down air, Peter was wide-eyed and dazed after his first experience of teleporting.

If Saal hadn't felt like he was balancing on a razor blade with the Nova Force pushing to take over his mind again, he would have found the sight endearing.  
"You okay?" He asked.

When Peter nodded and was already a little more stable, Saal released him and glanced around the room they were standing in; the waiting room outside Nova Prime's office.

Gamora was hovering next to a sofa with a fallen Nova soldier, her hands covered in blood as they were pressing down on his stomach. Drax was hovering behind Nova Prime, who was sitting in the secretary's chair. There was a random scattering of seven or eight Nova soldiers, all sitting or lying around the room.  
And every single one of them was staring at him.

For a few seconds, no one moved. No one spoke. It almost seemed as if time had stopped.

"Oh, hey," Peter's voice suddenly snapped Saal back to reality and he turned to watch as the Terran wobbled towards Gamora, "Ares got hit by some glass. Think you can fix him up?"

Before Saal could answer, Gamora shook her head and slowly removed her hands. "It's no use, Peter," she said quietly. "He's gone."

Ares. Saal blinked. How could he have forgotten his name?  
But looking around the room, dwelling on the weakened Nova Prime, the one person he would have betted his life on that he'd never hurt, Saal realized that a lot of things were wired wrong inside his head now.  
Time to put some of them right, while he still could.

Walking over to the sofa, Saal carefully gathered parts of the Nova Force. "He's not gone."

That earned him a sharp look from Gamora and a twitch in her right hand, probably aching to go for a knife to bury in him.

"He's in here," Saal mumbled, kneeling down next to the sofa. "He's inside the Nova Force."

-

While a part of Peter wanted to tell Saal to stop, terrified that any more meddling in the Nova Force could make the Denarian go all Omega on them again, he couldn't help but to stare in silent awe as Saal placed a hand on Ares' stomach and the almost familiar glow surrounded the fallen soldier.

"So when a Nova soldier dies, their, what, soul goes into the Nova Force?" Peter asked.

"Not just soldiers," Nova Prime corrected gently. "Everyone. Everyone connected with Xandar."

"Their thoughts, their memories... Their voices," Saal said, blue flickering briefly in his eyes as he cast a quick glance at Starlord. "All of them are in here." He drew a shivering breath. "And some of them are awfully angry, Peter. So much rage. Furious at being cheated at life. Envious of others."

Peter felt an ice cold chill run down his spine.

"Fear and sorrow," Saal mumbled, returning his focus to Ares. "So many wars. So many who died, torn from their loved ones. So many voices, so many memories..."

No wonder the ones who got fully exposed to the Nova Force went crazy, Peter realized. It was having millions of voices screaming inside your head at once.

"What are you going to do to Ares?" Gamora snapped, clearly not anxious to have Saal turn the Millennian into Nova Omega 2.

"I'm putting him back," Saal replied, closing his eyes as he let the Nova Force wash over him. 

Put his soul back?  
"Can you really do that?" Peter asked, wondering why the Xandarian doctors didn't do it all the time. Hell, their army would basically be immortal!

"I just have to find him." Saal said absently, concentrating hard.

Starlord figured that it meant sorting through the millions and millions of souls already in the Nova Force. He knew the most skilled doctors on Xandar could channel the Nova Force into healing smaller wounds, but to wake someone from the dead it meant finding the exact soul.  
Something probably only Nova Omega could do.

Moments passed but when the ceiling lights began to flicker, Peter cast an anxious glance back at Nova Prime and the Nova soldiers, seeing several of them struggling to get back up on their feet, probably to make one final effort at taking down Nova Omega.

Starlord exchanged a meaningful look with Drax, nodding towards the soldiers.

The big guy blinked confused.

It took everything Peter had to keep from rolling his eyes. He stared at Drax even harder and lifted a discrete hand to point at the soldiers, miming the words 'watch them'.

Finally it looked like he got the message and Drax reached out and resolutely shoved the soldier closest to him back down.

Turning back to Saal, Peter couldn't help feeling nervous. How long could he play for time? How long could Saal stay sane?  
The gun behind his back was pressing into his skin, a constant reminder of its presence and that it could be the one certain solution to stop Nova Omega.

No. Not as long as there was hope. 

He saw the glow grow more intense as Saal slowly moved his hand up to Ares' chest and placed his other hand to the Millenian's temple.

Another surge of the Nova Force made the lights go out for a second, then Saal lowered his hands and sighed wearily just as Ares opened his eyes.

Peter exchanged a disbelieving stare with Gamora before he kneeled down next to the Denarian, lost for words.

He'd been so terrified of what the Nova Force could do to 'Saal' that he hadn't thought about what Saal could do with 'it'.  
Granted, the man had gone on about the good he could do, but raising the dead was on a whole different level! No wonder he'd been reluctant to part with it.

Yet, even with the Lazarus effect, it still wasn't worth it.  
Wasn't worth losing Saal over.

Peter reached out a hand, placing it carefully on Saal's shoulder to gain his attention, half-frightened as he wondered whether he'd see the beautiful dark eyes or Nova Omega's unnatural gaze.

As the man turned to look at him, the Ravager couldn't hold back a relieved laugh and Garthan Saal gave a faint smile in return.

-  
The relief was so visible on Peter's face and audible in his laugh that Saal felt yet another stab of guilt for being the cause of concern.

"I'm sorry," he said softly. "I should have listened to you. When you wanted to leave, I should have listened."

Peter shook his head, all too ready to forgive and forget, blissfully unaware of others that might not be as magnanimous. "Don't worry about it, man."

Saal swallowed down all the emotions threatening to spill out. "No, I was wrong. I admit it. I was so set on proving that the ones who had discarded me because of my scars had been wrong that I couldn't see beyond my own goal. Couldn't see the danger, even when you tried to warn me. I forgot what mattered the most." 

Letting his hand slide up to rest behind Saal's neck, Peter gave his neck a light and teasing squeeze. "Dude, forget about it. You're back now, yeah? That's what matters."

"Yes," Saal replied, strangely at ease with what he knew he had to do. 

Ares had inched back into a semi-sitting position, staring wide-eyed at Saal while clutching the hand that the equally wide-eyed Gamora had placed on his shoulder.

Nova Prime was also watching him, but with sadness rather than fear, as if she was to blame for failing to protect Saal from himself.  
The other Nova soldiers were frightened though, frozen in whatever position they had been in when Ares had suddenly come to life again.

Only Drax appeared unfazed.

"Peter, listen," Saal said, reaching up to pull his hand free and taking it between both of his own. "Whatever happens has to happen, yeah?" He smiled a little at the confused look on the Terran's face. "Just... trust me. Don't do anything, well, stupid."

Peter laughed a little at that, but his confusion didn't lessen. "What are you talking about?"

Saal hesitated, drew a breath to gather his courage, then leaned over to brush his lips softly over Peter's. "Thank you."

Ignoring the confused stuttering from the other man, Saal got up and glanced back at Ares, his final good deed as Nova Omega, before walking over to Nova Prime.  
He saw the other Nova soldiers jump to their feet, ready to defend their leader to the death, but Nova Prime raised a hand to signal for them to stay back.

Halting in front of her, the Denarian gave a faint smile to the white haired woman, who returned with ease.  
There was no blame between them, other than the kind directed at themselves.

Forcing himself to move before he could change his mind, as the power inside him was screaming for him not to do it, Saal sank down on his knees and closed his eyes.

He couldn't risk looking at Peter because that would definitely cause him to change his mind!

The Denarian reached out and gathered all the Nova Force at his command, centered it in his chest and held it there for a heartbeat, feeling the power and the promise of an eternal life in it, before pushing it out and to where he'd harvested it from.

-

There was a flash of light and a massive pulse of energy emanating from Saal washed through the room.

As the Nova Force went straight through Peter on its way to wherever Saal was sending it, the Terran got a brief taste of merely a fraction of the power Saal had been carrying and he numbly realized that the man had to be crazy to give it up!

A second later the Nova Force was gone, continuing onwards on its destination, and Starlord was only left with a horrified memory of his own thoughts.

Blinking out of the trance, gathering himself, Peter glanced around the room before focusing on the still kneeling Saal again.

The glow surrounding the Denarian was growing weaker until it faded completely as the scars returned once more to his skin.

Peter hardly dared to breathe. Everything was so quiet.

Finally Nova Prime got up from her seat, once again brimming with energy, and Saal slowly gazed up at her. The other Nova soldiers quickly moved to surround him and aim their weapons at him.

"Whoa! Hey, hey!" Peter automatically called out, taking a step towards them. "No, hey, hold on!"

He fell quiet when Saal looked over at him, met his eyes, and slowly shook his head.

Drawing a frustrated breath, clenching his hands into fists, Peter shifted his weight uneasily. Everything in him was screaming for him to interfere, to get Saal out of there, but the Denarian clearly didn't want him to.  
Starlord just couldn't shake off the horrible feeling that Garthan's recent words, his thanking him, it felt far too much like Saal saying goodbye.  
Peter had already lost him once. Could he really stand by and let it happen again?

"Denarian Saal," Nova Prime stated quietly. "By the authority of the Nova Corps, you are hereby under arrest."

Saal merely nodded and raised his hands in surrender.

"This is wrong," Peter growled. "So wrong."

He had to force himself to keep still when the soldiers put handcuffs on the passive Saal but couldn't keep from giving a snort of contempt.  
As if handcuffs could restrain the man if he decided to go full Omega.

That was when the elevator doors opened and revealed a very frustrated Rocket.

Hoisting his weapon, he glanced from the cuffed Saal to the nervous Nova soldiers to the angry Peter and couldn't quite decide where to aim his gun. "Quill, what the hell is going on?"

"Put your weapon down," Saal said.

"You're crazy. You don't get a vote!" Rocket snapped, turning his attention to Peter. 

Peter sighed, reluctantly shaking his head. "Just... put the gun away, Rocket. I'll explain later."

Hesitating for a second, the small guy eventually lowered the weapon and trudged over to Starlord while muttering under his breath. "Somebody damn well better start explaining..."

Nova Prime nodded her gratitude to him, but Peter merely glared angrily back at her.

When the Nova soldiers lead Saal towards the elevator, the Denarian kept his gaze on the floor with a strangely expressionless face and seconds later the doors closed and he was gone.

"Peter Quill," Nova Prime said.

"If you let anything happen to him," Peter cut her off with an ominous warning, "I won't stand by and do nothing. You got that?"

"I understand," Nova Prime replied gently. "But you have to understand that..."

"I don't have to anything!" Peter turned away to face Gamora and Ares. "Hey, kid, you feeling okay?"

He waited for the Millennian to give a startled nod before glancing at each Guardian in turn. "For now, I vote we return to the Milano again. I don't want to risk anyone else risk getting arrested."

There were no objections, something Peter appreciated as he was both upset and exhausted.  
He needed to rest a little.

Rest and plan.

Whatever the Nova Corps had planned for Saal, it was bound to be nothing good and Peter had to be ready.

Because when the time came, Starlord was going to steal his most coveted treasure yet: Garthan Saal.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter heard Gamora calling his name.
> 
> Jumping to his feet, he ran into the common room and saw Ares there, along with the others. They were all staring at him.
> 
> Fear struck Peter hard and he steeled himself for the bad news. "What?"
> 
> "They reached a verdict," Ares said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you forgive the 100 years it took for me to update and that you enjoy!

Two days.   
Two days had passed and Peter was going out of his mind.

Since his arrest Saal had been kept in isolation and a tribunal, which only Nova Corps officers would be allowed to attend, was hastily arranged to decide his fate.

Only his promise to Saal to not do anything stupid was keeping Peter from having Rocket blow a hole in the building keeping their Denarian before it was necessary. He had the plans ready though.

Denarian Dey leaked information to Ares who passed it on to Peter, but it wasn't enough.

It seemed like Saal was doing okay. He kept to himself in his cell, only speaking when spoken to, remaining as calm and professional as ever, but Peter was dying to know how he really was doing.  
Saal's biggest fear had been to turn into Nova Omega and that nightmare had come true. It was bound to have left the Denarian shaken.

Ares also described how he, Denarian Dey and Nova Prime had all spoken up for Saal at the tribunal, but refused to tell Peter the names of the two Centurions and a Denarian who had argued for his execution.

(Starlord vowed to discover their names later, once he had gotten Saal to safety...)

But for now, all Peter could do at the moment was to wait.  
And wait some more.

He was grateful for how the other Guardians didn't complain about being stuck on Xandar even longer without any definite date for their departure. His offer to let them take the Milano and leave had been met with scornful looks.

Peter wondered if Saal was aware of how much they all considered him a part of their family and how he would react to that fact.

In the past, the Denarian would have found it awkward and degrading, but now... 

Sighing, the Terran leaned forward where he was sitting in the pilot seat, pulling both hands through his hair.  
Waiting really wasn't his strength.

He was considering doing yet another training session when he heard Gamora calling his name.

Jumping to his feet, Peter ran into the common room and saw Ares there, along with the others. They were all staring at him.

Fear struck Peter hard and he steeled himself for the bad news. "What?"

"They reached a verdict," Ares said.

That was fast, Peter mused. Was that good or bad?

"It's good news," Ares continued with a careful smile. "They must have taken Nova Prime's words into consideration, of how much damage Denarian Saal 'could' have done but instead he managed to revert to his own self."

"I could have told them that," Peter snapped. "So what did they say?"

Ares shrugged. "He's free."

Peter blinked.

"Of course, there are certain stipulations about the use of Nova Force he needs to agree to, but other than that..." Ares continued. "I heard he was released to his old apartment."

That was all Peter could be bothered to hear before starting a wild dash towards the apartment where it had all started.

He was panting hard after the run when he finally reached the building and wasted no time in heading for the door to Saal's apartment.  
Like before, the security system unlocked the door for him and Starlord hurried inside with hope hammering hard in his chest. "Saal?"

For one moment, he wondered if Ares had been wrong, if someone had lied or misinformed him, as the apartment seemed completely abandoned. 

Then he noticed how most of Saal's things were either gone or placed in boxes.

Someone had been here, at least. 

Moving into the living room, Peter glanced around with an uneasy feeling at seeing it just as bare as the hallway.  
It was as if someone had died and relatives had packed away their things.

The troubling thoughts were then shattered as the door to the bedroom opened.

-

"Peter?" A familiar voice said. "I didn't hear you."

Spinning around as Saal spoke, Peter's relief and happiness morphed into utter surprise at the sight that met him.

Saal gave a somewhat sheepish smile and held out his arms and turned around once to allow the other man to inspect what he was having trouble believing he was seeing.

"Do you like it?" Saal cleared his throat, slightly embarrassed. "I asked to have it made."

The Ravager red leather jacket he was wearing over his trademark blue clothes was the waist length kind, but with the mark of a Nova Force Centurion on the shoulder instead of the trademark flame emblem.

Peter stuttered something.

Saal lowered his arms and glanced down at himself. "It's going to take time to get used to wearing red though..."

That was when the Terran moved over, grabbed a hold of the collar on aforementioned jacket and yanked Saal into a hard kiss.  
Releasing him, Peter then let out a faint laugh. "It's perfect." He tugged lightly at the collar and glanced down at it. "And just when I thought you couldn't look cooler!"

Saal snorted amused. "Yes, well, I'm glad you approve."

The smile on the Terran's face suddenly faded and he took a step back while giving a punch to Saal's shoulder. "What the hell, man? Letting yourself get arrested for shit that wasn't your fault? Standing trial, telling me not to do anything!"

"I'm sorry, Peter, but it had to happen that way."

Peter shook his head. "And what if they had voted to execute you?"

Saal shifted uneasily. "I had faith in them making the right decision."

"Faith my ass," the Ravager grumbled. "You gambled on them landing on Nova Prime's recommendation and you would have just accepted whatever verdict she placed on you."

Hesitating, Saal then spoke in a low voice. "While a part of me thought it would be best for me to be executed, that it would be safer for everyone, I fear your ways have rubbed off on me. I wouldn't have given up on our life without a fight if the verdict had gone another way. I simply hoped it could be resolved peacefully."

Peter stepped closer again, still with a angry look on his face, but he merely wrapped his arms around Saal and hugged him close. "I've almost lost you three times in two weeks. Don't do this to me again."

Forcing down a wave of emotions, Saal wrapped his arms around Peter in return. 

They didn't move for a long while until Peter finally released him and took a step back to study the jacket once again. "So they're finally kicking you out of the Corps, huh?"

Saal shook his head and raised his eyebrows. "Not as such." He shrugged. "They promoted me."

"They what?"

"I'm Centurion level now." Saal tapped the emblem on his shoulder. 

Clearly uneasy at the mere thought of Saal getting infused with more Nova Force than before, Peter swallowed hard. "Not that I don't think you'd make a kick-ass Centurion, but, uh, why?"

"Nova Prime said I might have turned into Nova Omega, but I was the first one to ever have turned back," Saal explained. "She said it proved my skills and my determination and that such a feat was worthy of Centurion rank."

Peter nodded thoughtfully, strangely reassured. "When she puts it like that..."

Deciding to leave out that he'd tried to decline the promotion and how hard Nova Prime had to fight for his life at the tribunal, Saal suddenly couldn't wait to get away from the apartment and even Xandar itself. "But I am giving up the apartment."

"Really?" Peter had a re-visit of the surprised look on his face.

Saal nodded and gave a fond little smile. "Really. I won't be needing it anymore." He nodded towards the door. "Let's go home."

-

For a moment, Peter couldn't breathe.

The Milano. Saal meant the Milano. Peter and the Milano was home now.

It almost made him spew all sorts of embarrassing things so he quickly fell back on old tricks.

Peter moved closer to Saal, real close, letting his fingertips slide down the leather covered arms, leaning up to whisper in his ear. "The second we're gone from this planet, I'm dragging you to our room where you, wearing just that jacket, are going to fuck me until I pass out."

It had the desired effect and Peter hoarded the sight of a light color brushing over Saal's cheekbones at the same time as the pupils in his eyes dilated and his lips parted in startled intrigue.

Stepping away, the Ravager grinned as the newly appointed Centurion regained his senses and the two walked out of the apartment.

Saal picked up one box by the door, but otherwise left everything behind, and Peter watched in silence as he set the security system to delete him as the owner.

"You okay?" Peter asked as Saal's name blinked once on the panel and then disappeared.

The dark haired man seemed to consider the question before glancing over at Peter and nodding.   
There was a new kind of peace in the dark eyes.

"Let's go," Peter said and they started making their way back to the ship.

People were still staring at Saal due to his scars, but this time the Nova Corps soldiers were also staring. However, the soldiers had fear in their eyes, not pity or disgust.

Peter had to keep himself from reaching out to touch Saal, knowing how much this hurt him, but the Centurion must have sensed his thoughts and managed to send the Terran a faint smile.

At the air docks, the Guardians were waiting outside the Milano, along with Denarian Dey and Millennian Ares.

Drax nodded and grinned widely at the sight of Saal in his new jacket, Rocket shouted that it was about damn time he chose the right side and Gamora merely gave an approving nod with a knowing look.

"Still can't get used to seeing you in that jacket," Ares said, smiling a little sheepishly. 

"But it looks good," Denarian Dey shot in, ever concerned that someone's feelings would get hurt.

"Yes, he does," Peter said with smug satisfaction.

Saal nodded affably before focusing on Dey and Ares. "I just wanted to thank you once again. For speaking on my behalf."

Dey beamed, but Ares met his eyes seriously. "You saved my life, Centurion Saal. I can never repay that."

"Ah, but I was also the reason why you got hurt," Saal pointed out mildly. "I wouldn't have thought any less of you for bearing a grudge for that. So, please, allow me to thank you."

The Millennian gave a small and embarrassed nod.

Turning to Denarian Dey, Saal held out his hand and shook Dey's hand when he took it. "Please thank Nova Prime for her support."

"I will," Dey said. "Take care of yourself out there. Remember to give us a call once in a while. Don't forget about us."

Saal smiled. "Thank you."

"And if you ever need help, we'll be here," the Denarian added gently.

"Okay, enough of the touchy-feely stuff!" Rocket declared abruptly, taking the hand, or the branch acting as a hand, of little Groot and turned to enter the Milano. "Let's get the hell out of here before anything else happens!"

"The fur-ball is correct," Drax stated. "We should leave at once."

Gamora nodded as well, but moved over to Ares first. "Thank you. For the knives." She leaned over and kissed his cheek before following Drax, Rocket and Groot inside the ship.

Peter waggled his eyebrows at the young man and the Millennian turned beet red at the implication that Gamora might not loathe his very existence at least.  
Saal gave a final nod to both Nova soldiers and then dragged Peter with him to enter the Milano as well.

-

"Welcome back, idiot," Rocket declared with a fang-filled grin as Saal and Peter entered the common room while Drax and Gamora got the ship ready to leave Xandar.

"Thanks, I guess?" Saal replied with a faint smile, but didn't get to say much more as Peter merely tugged him on towards their room.  
Remembering what the Terran had said, Saal felt a light heat in his face. Surely the man hadn't been serious? Well, most likely he was. It was Peter Quill, after all.

Once inside, Peter closed the door and turned to face the newly appointed Centurion. "So," he said.

"So?" Saal echoed uncertainly.

"Why did they let you go?" Peter asked. "Ares said you had to agree to some rules or something. What did it cost you?"

Saal sighed and put the one box he'd brought from his apartment down on the nightstand before he sank down to sit on the bed. "Thanks to Nova Prime, it didn't cost me too much. I am to keep at my current Nova Force level. If I exceed it, my life is forfeit. Other than that, I am to keep to the regular stipulations for off-world personnel."

"So they just let you go?" There was no small amount of suspicion in Peter's voice.

Shrugging, Saal turned his gaze to the floor with a slightly resigned expression. "They did. Or, I suspect, they worried that I would turn Omega on them once more if they tried anything else." He forced himself to meet the Terran's eyes. "I fear my Nova Corps reputation won't do you much good anymore, Peter Quill. It won't take long before the word about my Omega state will spread."

"Awesome," Peter grinned.   
He laughed out loud at the startled look on Saal's face. "Come on, man! Have you any idea how much free stuff we can get if I just happen to mention I got Nova Omega on my crew!"

Utterly horrified at the idea, Saal was about to start ranting when the Terran silenced him by moving over and gently cupping his face between his hands.

"Now," Peter mumbled, "I believe we had an agreement which included you wearing this jacket."

Saal swallowed hard, feeling the need to lecture Peter on how he couldn't exploit people's fear of Nova Omega just for his own gain but also how blood and heat eagerly rushed south. "Peter..."

The Ravager tilted his head slightly, letting his gaze move over the leather jacket. "Leather looks good on you."

The suggestive waggle of Peter's eyebrows that followed the words made Saal break free of his hands with a sheepish laugh. "Very funny..."

His embarrassment was cut short as Peter straddled his lap and took his face between his hands again to make him meet his eyes once more.   
"You think I'm joking?" Peter suddenly seemed very serious.

For once, Saal had no idea what to say. He was intrigued, self-conscious and flustered all at once.

Peter Quill obviously decided to convince him.

Pushing the leather jacket off Saal, Peter indulged them in a couple of lazy kisses before the Centurion's shirt followed, but once the chest was bared then the Ravager pulled the red leather jacket back on, despite Saal's weak objections that it would get awfully hot wearing it and it would be inconvenient for easy maneuverability. 

"Deal with it," was Peter's short reply before he moved off and went to work on Saal's boots.

Saal managed nothing but a hard swallow when the Ravager shoved the Centurion's knees apart to kneel between them and began working on unbuttoning his pants while Saal's fingers were clenched and unclenched at the bed sheets.

Once Peter impatiently tugged the pants down, the dark haired soldier squirmed to help him remove the clothing, but took a firm hold behind Peter's neck and dove forward and downwards to claim his lips the second they were gone.

The jacket was already too warm and they had only started...

-

Peter smiled briefly into the kiss, feeling Saal's hands pulling at his clothes to undress him as well and wasted no time in joining in achieving that goal.

Once it was finally skin against skin, Peter moved to straddle Saal again, took a firm hold of the leather jacket before he shifted his weight and yanked the other man along.

Still holding on to the leather jacket, Peter made a satisfied groan as Saal landed on top of him.  
This. Yes, this was precisely what he needed. What they needed.

Wrapping one leg over Saal's, Starlord rolled his hips up against him while he used his grip on the jacket to pull Saal into a kiss.

There was no hesitation in Saal's touch, Peter noted absently, and he had learned exactly where to manipulate to make the Ravager jolt with pleasure and mindless joy.  
One day he might not be able to make Saal blush anymore, Peter would mourn that day, but considering his bag of tricks and the propriety of the man, it was a long way off yet.

Almost losing him, not once but several times, made Starlord paw and urge Saal on, shuddering with impatience when slippery fingers refused to be rushed.  
Hell, Peter suspected the dark haired man found equal amounts of pleasure watching him react to the caresses as he did the fucking itself.

Arching up against Saal at a direct stroke to where pleasure would jolt through him, Peter shut his eyes tight and shuddered again.   
"Now," he whined.

"Soon," Saal breathed against his skin.

Peter ran his hand up Saal's neck and grabbed a harsh hold of his hair. "Now!"

For once, the Centurion did as the criminal ordered.

Hands were locked firmly on Peter's hips as he was pulled up and forward while Saal pushed forward, making Starlord dig his fingers into the leather jacket with a choked moan.

"Fu..." Peter babbled before the air was pushed out of his lungs and the battle was on.

The leather jacket was too warm, made everything extra sweaty and slippery, and it was perfect.

It went from Saal pushing Peter into the mattress to Peter rolling them over and riding him until he couldn't breathe and was back among the pillows while Saal was still kneeling and continuing to move up to when Peter clawed for him to come back down against him.

Peter tried to hold on, he really did, but soon after that his release hit him hard and sudden. 

He didn't even know he was biting into Saal's shoulder before he felt the other man tense up and then he was coming too.

Panting hard, Peter didn't object when Saal pulled away. He could hear the jacket being flung away and then the Centurion collapsed next to him, breathing equally hard.  
Starlord felt hot, sticky and wrung out in all the right ways. He couldn't help the grin he felt appearing on his face. This was how it was supposed to be! 

"I'm not passed out, you know," Peter remarked with a leer.

Saal snorted amused, eyes closed and with a lovely sex-blush on his cheekbones. "Who said we were done?"

Rolling over on his side to hover over him, Peter's leer grew. He knew neither of them would be up for anything for a while, pun intended, but he suddenly decided that he found confident Saal every bit as hot as newbie Saal. "Why, Mister Centurion Sir, I do believe that is sass I detect!"

Letting out a quiet laugh, Saal tugged him down and held him close, despite it being way too hot for the both of them, and pressed a kiss to Peter's unruly hair. 

The Ravager settled with his head on Saal's chest, listening to the heartbeat slowly calming down. 

They slumbered in silence for a bit until Peter felt the chill and demanded they'd get under the covers. 

Sighing with contentment as he made himself comfortable against Saal again, Peter wrapped and arm possessively over his waist. "It's good to have you back," he mumbled.

"It's good to be home," Saal murmured in reply.

Once again silence wrapped itself around them, much like they were around each other, and time was spent resting and mapping out whatever skin was bared with lazy caresses.

A hard knocking on the door suddenly tossed them violently out of their reverie and Peter glared at the door.

"Now what?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What now, indeed!   
> I promise you, there is only one part left in this series and then it will all be over! Thank you so much for reading, especially for kudos and comments which does inspires me to write! I really appreciate it!


End file.
